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<br />J <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />.~ <br />j <br />! <br />j <br /> <br />CHAPTER 6 <br /> <br />RATES AND REVENUES <br /> <br />Water and wastewater rates are the lifeline by which a district maintains water and <br />wastewater facilities. In developing a sound basis for water and wastewater charges, the District <br />has endeavored to satisfy four major objectives. The rate structures must be: <br /> <br />1. Financially stable - effective in recovering the costs of providing service. <br /> <br />2. Practical - easy to understand, acceptable to the public, and feasible for the <br />District to administer. <br /> <br />3. Equitable - fair in apportioning the total cost of service to the consumer. <br /> <br />4. Conservation-promoting - effective in fostering the wise use of water. <br /> <br />In developing its water and wastewater rate structures, the District focused on a system <br />that discourages wasteful use of water while providing for high-quality service to its consumers <br />at a fair and equitable price. <br /> <br />Metering <br /> <br />Since its inception in 1981, Highlands Ranch has been fully metered. A metering <br />program promotes prudent water management by: <br /> <br />· Allowing the community to account for its water use and thus focus water <br />conservation efforts on heavy water consumers. <br /> <br />· Helping to determine unaccounted-for water so that it can be effectively <br />redlll'pLl _ <br /> <br />· Providing an effective motivator for conservation because the customer <br />pays in proportion to consumption. <br /> <br />Previous literature shows that water savings resulting from metering range from 13 to <br />45 percent. I The City of Denver witnessed an annual average reduction of 20 percent from <br />early pilot studies of its metering program. Metering has a substantial impact on outside, <br />discretionary watering, where savings have been recorded in the range of 25 percentl. In <br />comparison, metering has a minor impact on interior water use, since the amount of water used <br />inside is constant and thus harder to reduce. Some literature suggests an interior savings of 2 <br /> <br />IResidential Water Conservation Projects - Summary Report, Report No. HUD-PDR-903, Brown and Caldwell <br />Consulting Engineers, prepared for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy <br />Development and Resources, June 1984. <br /> <br />21-6657 <br />