Ft Lupton 1996 WCPlan

• Project Type: Water Conservation Plan
• Project Name: City of Fort Lupton Water Conservation Plan
• Title: Water Conservation Water Use Efficiency Plan
• Date: 7/18/1996
• County: Weld
• Water Conservation - Doc Type: Complete Plan

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Chapter 1
Introduction

On June 4, 1991, the State of Colorado (State) approved House Bill 91-1154,
which is known as the "Water Conservation Act of 1991". The State found and
declared that "in view of the increasing competition and demand for water in the
State of Colorado, it is the purpose of this act and policy of the State to enhance the
efficiency with which water is used to meet end uses, with the objective of making
water available for all beneficial uses in Colorado." Towards this end, the State is
requiring municipal water utilities that produce over 2,000 acre-feet per year (ac ft/yr)
of water to develop a water use efficiency plan to promote and implement sound
measures of water use efficiency, in order to meet all the water needs of the State,
to continue maintaining an adequate supply of water, and to provide necessary water
services at a reasonable cost. A copy of House Bill 91-1154 is included in
Appendix A.
The City of Fort Lupton (City) recognizes the importance of a water
conservation/water efficiency plan. The City's historic per capita demand has
averaged 310 gallons per capita per day (gpcd), double the national average. One
primary reason for this high per capita water usage rate is that Fort Lupton water
customers have never been metered, and there is no incentive to conserve water.
Recent water quality problems, State mandates, and Fort Lupton's increased cost of
water is drastically changing water practices of the City. It is important to note that
before 1994, the City produced an average of approximately 1,800 ac ft/yr of water,
below the 2,000 ac ft/yr threshold for water conservation plans. In 1994, however, the
Thermo Cogeneration Power Plant (Thermo) began operation, almost doubling the
.. _ _ _ _ _~.water _ production,. ..resulting. in Fort T .nptnrLs--pro<1nc.tion .0Lmore.than. _ _ .
2,000 ac ft/yr of water.
As of the date of this report, the City is in the midst of constructing the largest
water project in Fort Lupton's history. The City has been mandated by the State of
Colorado to participate in the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District's
(NCWCD's) Southern Water Supply Project, which will bring a new surface water
source from Carter Lake, located just west of Loveland, to Fort Lupton. This project
will replace the City's groundwater supply with a new treated surface water supply.
The City's groundwater violates the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDW A) and

{25325.100; 051141961

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