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:
- the total amount of water provided to major sectors (residential, commercial, irrigation, etc…)
- the total number of accounts served in each sector
- an estimate of the residential population served
- an estimate of the amount of water that has been saved through the provider’s conservation programs
This bill is important because:
- conservation is an integral strategy for how Colorado will meet its future demands, but we currently do not have a complete understanding of how well conservation works across the state
- this bill would enable gathering of this information on an annual basis (it is currently collected, but only every 7 years)
- the data will help the state plan for conservation in the most accurate manner possible
- it will allow the state’s conservation staff to be more efficient and effective with their time
- it may provide the state with data that could be used to leverage federal grant money for improved water conservation
- it should reduce the amount of time water providers spend responding to many inquiries about conservation statistics
- Within Colorado
- WRA met with utility officials in Denver and at the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to further encourage adopting recommendations from our Front Range Water Meter report. WRA’s recommendations have been well received and may lead to legislation that would be supported by CWCB.
- WRA's Taryn Hutchins-Cabibi worked closely with the City of Thornton to improve their water conservation planning document by providing technical analysis and recommendations.
- In collaboration with Aquacraft Water Engineers, Taryn completed a study for the CWCB on which water entities qualify as “covered” under state statute 37-60-126, which specifies that any water provider delivering over 2,000 acre-feet of water per year must develop a water use efficiency plan. We found nearly 100 water providers in the state qualify and, of that number, only a handful have developed approved conservation plans. These entities must comply with the law before they eligible for funding from either the CWBD or the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority. WRA is working to push to these water entities to develop strong water conservation plans.
- Utah.
- Working closely with Citizen’s for Dixie’s Future, WRA submitted extensive scoping comments and provided technical guidance for others’ comments on the proposed pipeline from Lake Powell to St. George, Utah. Our comments included a detailed look at current levels of use as well as recommendations for non-structural means to meet the increasing demand of this fast-growing community.
- We submitted a comment letter to the city of St. George regarding their new landscape ordinance. While the ordinance is not perfect, it does illustrate some commitment to the use of more water-efficient plants.
- Southern Delivery System (SDS) pipeline project.
- We provided technical analysis of existing conservation measures for Colorado Springs Utilities, City of Fountain, and Security Water District, all of whom are seeking new water resources through the Southern Delivery System, a pipeline drawing water north from Pueblo Reservoir. We met with Colorado Springs Utilities to ask questions and share our analysis.
- We prepared and submitted comprehensive comments on water conservation and efficiency, as well as energy costs, for the federal permitting process for the SDS project.
- Water and Energy Efficiency in Green Building
- To kick off a new project looking at how rapidly growing communities can develop in water-smart and energy-efficient ways, Taryn met with consultants from the YRG consulting firm, as well as Dominion Water, Headwaters Corporation, and the developer of the proposed Sterling Homes project in the South Metro Denver area. This 10,000-home development wants to be as water smart as possible and asked for WRA’s technical help.
- Provide water at low prices for basic and essential needs, so all customers can afford it;
- Reward conserving customers with lower unit rates for water;
- Assign water supply and development costs proportionately to the customers who place the highest burden on the supply system, and on the rivers that feed the supplies; and
- Do all of the above while still maintaining a stable revenue flow to the utility.
The bill's primary sponsors are Representative Jack Pommer and Senator Bruce Whitehead. Colorado Environmental Coaltion was also intrumental in crafting the bill's language. Read the legislation here.
"New House New Paradigm" Report Studies Development Approaches That Work in the Arid West
"New House, New Paradigm" is a report produced by WRA's Water Program that makes recommendations for “water-smart” residential development in the West. This report describes the nexus between land use and water demands and shows how water-smart housing will be essential to meeting the needs of a rapidly increasing population while still preserving rivers and watersheds. The report details how new development can be planned and built to use significantly less water than the status quo, and offers measures that can be used to keep residential water use rates low.
Read the full report or the executive summary here.
WRA Water Conservation News
Structuring Water Rates to Promote Conservation
In the West, rivers, streams, and aquifers sustain cities and towns by feeding our urban water supply systems. With this finite supply, we must maintain the delicate balance between providing water that flows through our faucets and keeping water in our rivers to maintain healthy ecosystems. Westerners place a high value on both.
Water rate structures play an essential role in communicating the value of water to customers, promoting long-term efficient use. Increasing block rate structures (picture a staircase) most effectively encourage efficient water use. Customers who use low or average amounts of water are rewarded for conservation; those using excessive volumes pay higher unit prices.
WRA’s Smart Water study of regional water use found a correlation between cities with dramatically increasing block rates and those with the lowest per capita consumption levels. Along with other conservation and efficiency programs, effective rate structures can help stretch existing water supplies further and avoid much of the cost and controversy that result from large new water development projects. If designed appropriately, increasing block rates:
Throughout our region, a variety of water rate structures exist, ranging from progressive, efficiency-based designs to rate structures that actually promote inefficient water use. Although many municipalities have come a long way in instituting efficiency-based rate structures, many still have room for improvement. This is precisely why WRA’s Water Program is accelerating its efforts to promote efficiency-based rate structures throughout the Southwest.
We have already begun assisting various Colorado municipal governments, water utilities, and environmental organizations in assessing the most effective rate structure options in each community.
Water Rate Structures in Colorado: How Colorado Cities Compare in Using this Important Water Use Efficiency Tool
Water rate structures are becoming an important tool for encouraging the most efficient use of precious water in the arid West. This report offers a guide to the various pricing options that urban water managers and policymakers can use. It explains which options generate the strongest incentive for efficient water use and yield the fairest billing for consumers who place different levels of strain (demand) on water supply systems. It then compares water rate structures in communities along Colorado's Front Range and on Colorado's Western Slope.
View the
report 
(310kb)
SMART WATER: A Comparative Study of Urban Water Use Efficiency Across the Southwest
Smart Water provides an in-depth comparison on the efficiency of urban water use by over a dozen cities in the arid southwest. It describes how unchecked growth in urban water use threatens nearby river systems, such as Colorado’s Gunnison Basin, and New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande. The report also summarizes current state-of-the-art practices in conserving water and in using existing water supplies more efficiently, highlighting areas where there is room for improvement.
Smart Water makes it clear there are many tools, not fully tapped, that can dramatically improve urban water management. One avenue is to reduce urban demand for water by planting drought-resistant lawns and installing drip irrigation systems. Upgrading toilets and appliances with water-saving devices offers additional savings. Such conservation measures alone could make up for a water shortfall projected for the Denver metropolitan area by 2045. It appears that one of the clearest paths to improved efficiency is through water rate structures that make use expensive for water wasters while offering discounts to low water users. Water conservation would also be fostered through incentives such as rebate programs.
The Last Straw: Water Use by Power Plants in the Arid West
Fossil-fueled power plants are widely recognized as major sources of air pollutants that damage human health and the environment. But they also have a significant impact on water, both as large users and polluters. Water has always been scarce in the West, resulting in fierce competition between various users, such as irrigators, industries and cities. Due to widespread drought conditions, water is becoming increasingly valuable and its use increasingly contentious. As a result, Western communities are now reassessing how best to use this vital resource.
The Last Straw, co-authored by WRA and Clean Air Task Force describes practical opportunities to reduce both water use and water quality impacts from power generation. It examines the close relationship between power generation and water, including water use effects on competing uses, water quality and power system reliability.
The report sets out an action agenda that covers fossil-fuel generation, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. If implemented, this agenda will minimize the impacts from water used for power generation, while ensuring power system reliability, conserving scarce water resources, and protecting rivers, streams and groundwater from unnecessary discharges.
View the report (509kb)