Silt Can Save Education Application

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3. Where idea ~ from and research obtained For several years Silt has been using a passive water con- servation education program initiated through the Public Works Department. During that time much research has gone into tracking water usage and possible ways to reduce the loss of treated water. The cost of producing water and the amount of water needed for consumption has steadily risen. For the production side, much of the cost is tied up in chemical treatment, and little can be done about the expense until alternatives to present methods bring down costs. The remedy to water consumption needs has always been to produce more water, rather than focus on better utilization of existing production. Surrounding both problems are the increasingly stringent Clean Water Act regulations, which hit Silt hard as the town is the first to take water from the Colora- do River for consumption. Secondary research is coming from current experiments in the city of Grand Junction, as well as case studies from the Rocky Mountain Institute of Technology in Snowmass. Silt has not re- ceived the full results of these studies yet, but expect to by mid February, 1992. Initial results from these sources have been very positive, and have influenced the project outlined in this application. By focusing on conservation, every facet of water production can be positively affected. Silt currently produces around sixty million gallons of treated water a year. This amount rises about 1.2% a year. Much of this water is lost to lawns and gardens and other no-consumption uses during the year. By reducing production by 20% through conservation, less water is needed during the year, and more water is available down river. The predominant benefits to the town are water plant longevity and reduced pro- duction costs. Although the plant is not completely taxed for production, conservation extends the life of the current plant well beyond the first decade of the 21st century. Less use means less production; less production brings down treatment costs and allows additional down river use; lower treatment costs and production extends the life of the current water plant; longer life of the water plant means no new taxes to expand the plant. This application is based on current needs in Silt concern- ing water usage and conservation benefits. The loss of produced water to poor use will eventually cause Silt to have expand its current facilities, a very large and expensive process. By con- serving what is currently used, Silt and those farther down river benefit. The town has explored the alternative of using untreated water system for lawns and gardens in the summer. This, however is many years down the road, and does not address the immediate problem of production/consumption mentioned above. There is a need to make sure there are effective measures taken now to insure there is no water problem later. Conservation is the logical and most effective means a~ailable. 2