Dept of Institutions WCPlan - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

WATER EFFICIENCY PLAN DEPARTMENT OF INSTITUTIONS POLICY STATEMENT The Department of Institutions (DOl) is committed to supporting the Water Conservation Act of 1991 consistent with available funding and with due consideration to the unique requirements posed by our clients. AIl new or renovation constructfonshall incorporate the provisions of this Act to the maximum extent possible. A long range program will be developed to implement water conserving techniques in existing facilities. BACKGROUND DOl is responsible to provide direct-care services to persons who are mentally ill or - - - - - - - - - - - -develupmentally-disabled-and-to-juvenile--of'fenders thToughoutthe--state;- -Buring- - - fiscal 1991-92, DOl served approximately 80,000 persons in a combination of contracted and directly operated programs. The directly operated facilities comprise approximately 300.buildings with an aggregate of over 3,000,000 square feet of building area located throughout the state with the majority of the facilities located along the front range. The majority of these state owned buildings are over twenty years old, with some dating back to the previous century. DOl maintains irrigated grounds which are watered by underground sprinkler systems, many of which have not been updated to current water conserving designs. Recent Capital Construction appropriations for new or renovated facilities have been limited to the construction of replacement beds in the Division of Youth Services (DYS) in the late 1980's. Capital Construction funding in the foreseeable future will continue to be directed to expansion of DYS facilities to overcome the current bed shortage. The correctional construction requirements for these facilities require careful evaluation of water conserving fixtures to assure the provisions of the Act can be satisfied with commercially available products suitable for use in these special facilities. Water consumption does not represent a significant contribution to DOl's utility costs as slightly over 10% of the total utility costs are attributed to water. As a result, water conservation efforts to reduce utility costs have been considered but have not been given a high priority due to the long term return on investment. Since water usage is nearly equally divided between irrigation and domestic consumption, investments in a single water conservation program have not shown returns which 3