Aspen 1997 WCPlan

• Project Type: Water Conservation Plan
• Project Name: City of Aspen Water Conservation Plan
• Title: Water Conservation Element Water Management Plan
• Date: 1/28/1997
• County: Pitkin
• Water Conservation - Doc Type: Complete Plan

1.3 . Resolution #5, Series of 1993
Following its review and rejection of the proposed 1990 Water Management Plan, for reasons
described earlier, City Council initiated a resolution to define a City policy for comprehensive water
management particularly focusing on the question of the conditions under which the City should
expand potable water service outside of the present City limits. The resolution provides a policy,
framework for evaluating potential service expansions, water development projects, and conservation
measures as a strategy to expand the availability of silpply. One of the primary policy goals is
maintenance of in-stream flows to protect aquatic life and aesthetic and recreational values of area
streams. Resolution #5 is included as Attachment A.

1.4 Water Audit (1994)
Following adoption of the water policy framework contained in Resolution #5, the City initiated a
program to measure the effectiveness of its current system of potable water delivery and metering.
A preliminary evaluation of the water system's efficiency indicated that when comparing records of
metered water sales and potable water production in 1993, approximately 45% of annual average
deliveries could be accounted for under metered water sales, representing 55% unaccounted-for
water. This is despite mandatory metering requirements for potable water use. A 1989 Water
Department estimate of water loss placed this figure at 15%.

The Water Department authorized a comprehensive water audit program in 1994 to investigate the
sources and causes of what appeared to be an inadequate distribution and metering system. The
objective of the program was to reduce the unaccounted-for water production to 10-15%, a figure.
representative of water industry standards, over a five-year period. The 1994 water audit
investigated all potential sources of losses, but focused on leakage in the water distribution system
and on the accuracy of metering at the point of delivery to the customer. This effort was continued
the following year to compare the results of the system's performance following corrective measures
taken to reduce leakage and improve the accuracy of metering. The results of the 1994 water audit.
showed that the gross amount of unaccounted-for water was 41.6%. In the 1995 water audit, this
figure had dropped to 28.5%, a 13% decrease over the prior year. In addition, the estimated
effectiveness of leak repairs performed in the last quarter of 1996 is likely to reduce the
unaccounted-for water to approximately 20%. The summary results of the two years of water audits
is presented in Attachment B: - - , , - , - - - ,

1.5 Leak Survey Results (1994)
During the summer of 1994, the entire 57 miles of potable water distribution system were surveyed
for leaks. A total of 75 leaks were identified in the survey, with an estimated loss of up to 0.85
million gallons per day (MGD). This equates to 25.8% of the average annual delivery of 3.3 MGD
treated water to the system.

Of the 75 leaks, 33 were classified as leaking fire hydrants, 2 were leaking customer service lines,
and 18 were mainline leaks. Up to 50% of the leakage was attributable to 11 of those mainline leaks,

7