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<br />Relevant Background <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Policy Setting- Existing Statutes, Rules and Internal Policy <br />Pertinent state statutory requirements are largely contained in three acts: House Bill (HB) 1169, HB <br />90-1106 and HB 91-1154. The three bills are summarized below. <br /> <br />House Bill 1169, passed in 1989, was short titled "State Projects Water Conservation in Landscaping <br />Act." The act makes determinations as to the limited supply and increasing demand of water and the <br />state's policy to promote conservation and enhance water use efficiency. It sets water conservation <br />requirements for public entities to follow landscaping of projects financed wholly or in part by the <br />state. <br /> <br />In 1990, House Bill 90-1106 was passed, short titled "Water Metering Act." It required every water <br />supplier in Colorado to implement metered water delivery and billing service according to a <br />schedule established in the act, with full metering accomplished on or before January 1, 2009. <br />Exempted are communities receiving water from free flowing springs, raw water piped irrigation <br />systems in communities with separate water piped irrigation and domestic systems, and <br />communities under sanction by the state health department for water quality standards. <br /> <br />The "Water Conservation Act of 1991," House Bill 91-1154, was intended to enhance the efficiency <br />with which water is used to meet end uses. It added water conservation as an explicit function of the <br />CWCB; established the Office of Water Conservation (OWC); authorized staff and budget; and <br />authorized funds for a pilot program of incentive grants to demonstrate the benefits of water <br />efficiency. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The responsibilities of the OWe, as defined in the statute, include acting as a repository for water use efficiency <br />information; providing technical assistance to and working with municipal and other urban water providers <br />and state agencies as they plan for, evaluate and implement water use efficiency measures; and coordinating <br />planning for and assisting in state agency water use efficiency planning. <br /> <br />In addition, this HB required entities that provide over 2,000 acre-feet of water annually to develop a <br />water use efficiency plan to be approved by the CWCB and/or the Colorado Water Resources and <br />Power Development Authority (CWRPDA) before being eligible for financial assistance; and <br />established parameters for these plans including a list of nine measures to be analyzed. <br /> <br />Nine Measures to be Considered in the Development of State-Approved Water Conservation <br />Plans <br />1. Water-efficient fixtures and appliances, including toilets, urinals, showerheads, and faucets; <br />2. Low water-use landscapes and efficient irrigation; <br />3. Water-efficient industrial and commercial water-using processes; <br />4. Water reuse systems, both potable and non-potable; <br />5. Distribution system leak repair; <br />6. Dissemination of information regarding water use efficiency measures, including by public <br />education, customer water use audits, and water-saving demonstrations; <br />7. Water rate structures designed to encourage water use efficiency in a fiscally responsible manner; <br />8. Regulatory measures, including standards for the use of water use efficiency fixtures and <br />landscapes, and ordinances, codes, or other law designed to encourage water use efficiency; and <br />9. Incentives to implement water use efficiency techniques, including rebates to customers or others <br />to encourage the installation of water use efficiency measures. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />2 <br />