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<br />
<br />5. Switching from Level 3 to Level 4 twice within a two-week period was difficult and confusing
<br />to customers, .
<br />6. Public perception ofEMD's water usage was adversely affected by downstream users, Trout
<br />Unlimited-Friends of Bear Creek complained we were killing fish by not releasing water;
<br />Morrison complained they were drinking our wastewater.
<br />7. Office staff was inundated with complaints, The ];>istrict was prepared to answer all ofthe.
<br />questions, The District was not staffed to respond, both orally and in writing, to all of the
<br />complaints,
<br />
<br />Maior Comnlaint of Customers Durin!!: Drou!!:ht Response
<br />
<br />I, The number of days between read dates, June had 28 days, July-35 days, August-3D days,
<br />This issue caused the District to make an adjustment in the rates for the July billing,
<br />2, Customers do not know how to read their own water meter; some customers cannot read their
<br />meter because ofthe new electronic radio device,
<br />3. Anyone with a water leak felt the District was penalizing them because ofthe rate increases,
<br />These leaks included running toilets, broken sprinkler systems, hot water heater failures, brakes
<br />in water pipes, and fuiled sprinkler system controllers causing sprinklers to run all day,
<br />4, Public Notices, CUstomer:
<br />. Did not receive the letter.
<br />. Never read the Canyon Courier.
<br />. Never watch television,
<br />. Just installed landscape and had no idea Colorado was in a drought condition,
<br />5, Large families, such a 2 adults and 4 children are restricted to 15,000 gallons, Children out of
<br />school and home also cause high water use.
<br />6, Customers believe their water meters are not correct, When usage increased it was because the
<br />meter was speeding up, When usage was normal the meter had slowed down,
<br />7, The Public Notice said customers could use 14,999 gallons, In actuality, the amount is 14,000
<br />gallons.
<br />8, We had several calls from people complaining about their neighbors watering;
<br />9, We had some comments that the Level 4 ban should not have been lifted,
<br />10. The rate structure amount ofthe penalty, how rates are determined, the authority of the District
<br />to charge or change rates, etc, have all been items of contention with our customers,
<br />
<br />Improvements to be made to the Response Plan
<br />
<br />1, During 3-day watering restriction, watering is to be done before 9:00 am or after 6:00 pm,
<br />2, Customer can water 2 or 3 hours per day, depending on size of the sprinkler heads,
<br />3, Both stream flow gages at Morrison and above Evergreen Lake should be redone, This will
<br />give us more reliable information on stream flows,
<br />4. There should be a minimum amount of days between making changes in the drought level
<br />status, We recommend a I-week interval for changes, This should not, however, be set in
<br />stone,
<br />5, If another drought is perceived to be imminent, customers should be notified as fur in advance
<br />as possible of what to expect, They should also be shown, in chart form, exactly how the rate
<br />structure would work. This chart could be placed on our web site,
<br />
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