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Water Efficiency

Rapidly growing demand for water by urban and suburban populations is the principal new threat to aquatic and riparian habitat in our region’s rivers, exacerbating problems from already heavy use by agriculture. Recent drought conditions worsen the problem, further taxing finite water resources and increasing the call from some for large new storage facilities. New municipal diversions often are trans-basin projects that divert high-quality water from high in the watershed, so impacts on small streams can be very great. The goal of the Water Efficiency Project is to improve water use efficiency in the region, thereby reducing stress on aquatic habitat.

NPR Consults with WRA on Story About Water Conservation

National Public Radio contacted WRA's Drew Beckwith when they wanted expertise on conservation-oriented water rate structures. Check out Drew's comments on this Weekend Edition story. Drew's one of the many experts on WRA's staff contacted by reporters for their knowledge on issues affecting the West. 

Water rate structures play an essential role in communicating the value of water to customers, and increasing block rate structuresmost effectively communicate this value. Through an increasing block rate design, the unit price for water increases as the volume consumed increases, with prices being set for each “block” of water use. Customers who use low or average volumes of water are charged a modest unit price and rewarded for conservation; those using significantly higher volumes pay higher unit prices. This type of pricing structure leads to the long-term efficient use of our scarce water supplies.

WRA has demonstrated effective leadership in promoting conservation-oriented rate structures, releasing our first of three papers on Western water rates in 2004. We continue to advocate for effective water pricing across the Interior West by participating in utility rate studies and partnering with local community organizations.

WRA Helps Craft HB1051 to Measure Water Conservation In Colorado

A bill crafted with great help by WRA has been introduced in the Colorado Legislature. HB1051 would require annual reporting of water data beneficial for water planning and conservation efforts. The bill would require water providers to annually report to the Colorado Water Conservation Board beginning in 2013:

This bill is important because: