Water Conservation Grant Program Report

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\. Pitkin County County: Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin Funding: $20,000 ~ Start: 9/1/93 Status: On-going The project goals include: increasing customer awareness of the effects of water conservation devices; extending the useful life of the water system; and coUecting data for evaluation of fumre projects, The project consists of offering the sale and/or installation of water- saving devices to residents in Aspen, Basalt, Battlement Mesa, Carbondale, G1enwood Springs, New Castle, Parachute, Rifle, Snowmass VIllage and the counties of Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin. The grant will be matched by local funding sources. Each house- hold that receives a new water-efficient toilet will pay for its share of the cost of labor and materials. The primary focos will be on the inslallation of new ultra-low flush toilets that will replace old, inefficient ones. Water-efficient showerheads and faucet aemtors will also be installed as part of the conservation retrofit package. Only those households on water meters will be monitored under this pro- ject. A record will be kept on the monthly water nsage of each household Each participant will sign a consent form allowing the con- tractof to look at their water and utility bills. A survey of participants will be conducted to determine customer perceptions and satis- faction levels with devices, Water efficiency devices will also be available to other buildings that may not be metered. The overall goal is to save water. So far, 70 toilets have been installed in various commuuities. There are plans in the works to do a large promotion of the project in all participating communities this fall and winter, Pueblo Mental Health County: Pueblo Funding: $49,875 Start: 811/93 Status: On-going This project wi1l implement a compnterized remote-control irrigation system for the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo to allow efficient control of lawn irrigation. A centrally controlled system will allow not only instantaneous changes for individual weath- er events, such as wind and rain, but also seasonal projecting changes to be made for different months of the year. This system help balance zone watering times across the campus without diminishing water pressure in the campus water mains. The expanded irriga- tion control system will include installation of a central computer and three field satellite units, as well as a weather station for accu- rate on-campus irrigation-related weather inputs. This system will be installed by on-site personnel with technical assistance as required from the manufacturer, The final report will COOlpare historical irrigation versus minimum theoretical irrigation use, predict what water usage would have been without the irrigation controls and compare with the actual water usage as determined by metering the irriga- lion control system. The project design work has been completed, bnt due to shortages in facility maintenance staff, equipment procurement and installa- tion was delayed untilIate fall of 1994. The installation will take approximately two months, The project has been highlighted in a publication called Insight that is circulated throughout the Department of Institutions, San Miguel County County: San Miguel Funding: $8,000 Start: 12/1/93 Status: On-going This project's goals include increasing customer awareness of the effects of xeriscaping and reduction of overall water usage. The pro- ject consists of developing a demonstration xeriscape project to encourage high-elevation, m;n;m.l water use landscaping for residen- tial uses, This project will include xeriscaping residential lots in a newly developed subdivision, producing educational materials to inform homeowners about high-elevation xeriscape methods and xeriscaping a bus turD-around. The xeriscape information developed for distribution will be specific to and appropriate for the Telluride region. The project design will emphasize low cost and low main- tenance, as well as low water use. Educational materials will be developed that included estimated expenses, locations where specif- ic plants can be purchased and sources for technical assistance, The total amount to be spent on landscaping and maintaining the pr0- ject will be monitored and compared to those costs for landscaping and maintaining county-owned properties and other residential properties without xeriscaping. '