To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Utilities Director
Matt Benak, P.E., Water Resources Manager
Sheri Scott, P.E., Water Resources Program Analyst
Rick Schultz, Water Conservation Specialist
Title
Resolution: 2015 Water Efficiency Master Plan
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
The Water Efficiency Master Plan (Plan) and conservation in general, is a key puzzle piece of Castle Rock’s long-term water plan. Continuing to be a leader in conservation and efficiency has the potential to save the customers and community tens of millions of dollars in renewable water investments over the next thirty years. The proposed goal set in the draft updated plan is to achieve another 18% reduction in per capita water use by maturity which is expected to be around 2055.
The Water Conservation Master Plan was last updated and adopted by Town Council in 2006. As part of the Colorado Revised Statute, all State approved plans require a public review process for a minimum of 60 days. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide an overview of public comments on the draft plan to Town Council, and request Town Council approval of the final plan. The proposed resolution for approval is provided in Attachment A. The final plan outlines the historic and projected water demands, efficiency goals, objectives, programs, and implementation plan.
The Town made the draft Plan available on the Town website for the public to review. The public comment period began on April 22, 2015 and terminated 60 days later on June 22, 2015. Staff received feedback from three customers, and a few very minor changes were included in the Plan as a result. Staff followed up with all customers regarding their comments.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
On April 21, 2015, staff provided Town Council with an update and draft 2015 Plan. Town Council recommended that the Plan move forward into the 60-day public comment period.
On April 22, 2015, staff provided the Utilities Commission with an update and draft 2015 Plan. Utilities Commission had no comments on the Plan.
On June 24, 2015, staff provided the Utilities Commission with an update on the public comment process. Utilities Commission had no additional comments. A quorum was not present, but the three Utilities Commission members present indicated they would have voted to recommend Town Council approve the Plan with the minor revisions made as a result of the public comment process.
Discussion
Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) through the Office of Water Conservation and Drought Planning requires that water providers with total demand of 2,000 acre-feet per year (AF/yr) or more develop and implement plans that encourage customers to use water efficiently. This requirement was first established through the Water Conservation Act of 1991. During the 2004 legislative session, the State of Colorado revised the minimum requirements of the Water Conservation Act of 1991 in House Bill 04-1365. This House Bill now required the conservation plans to include the following information:
• The steps the covered entity used to develop, and will use to implement, monitor, review and revise its water conservation plan;
• The time period, not to exceed seven years, after which the covered entity will review and update its adopted plan;
• Either as a percentage or in acre-foot increments, an estimate of the amount of water that has been saved through a previously implemented conservation plan and an estimate of the amount of water that will be saved through conservation when the plan is implemented;
• The water-saving measures and programs;
• The role of conservation in the entity’s supply planning; and
• A 60-day minimum public comment period.
Water use efficiency has short and long-term positive social and economic impacts. The Town has involved the community in the development, review and implementation of this draft efficiency master plan. Water use efficiency ensures effective use of existing and future water resources. Through water conservation efforts, the average water consumption of 165 gallons per capita day (gpcd) in 2006 decreased to 122 gpcd by 2014. If the community can conserve an additional 18% when the population reaches 105,200 by build-out in 2055, the community could save approximately $97 million in long-term development costs for renewable water based on today’s prices.
Castle Rock Water performed community outreach as part of this Plan. From the focus groups and online survey, respondents indicated that they wanted more conservation information via bill inserts, e-mail newsletters, and websites. They also indicated that they were in favor of additional water conservation efforts.
All State approved plans require public review process per Colorado Revised Statute (C.R.S.) 37-60-126 (5). The minimum duration of public review is 60 days. To comply with this requirement, staff made the draft Plan available at www.crgov.com/WEMP <http://www.crgov.com/WEMP> and provided a form for comments. The 60-day public comment period began on April 22, 2015, and is set to terminate on June 22, 2015. Staff advertised this public comment period via Town Talk, e-mail, and Facebook/Twitter feeds.
The Town received three questions and/or comments, which were all from Castle Rock Water customers. Staff followed-up individually with each customer. The questions and/or comments are listed below.
1. QUESTION/COMMENT: I am glad to see the expansion of incentives for water conservation. However, I am sad that there is no mention in the report of rain collection devices or rain barrels. I believe that there should be incentives for customers whether residential or commercial to collect rain water and use it for their lawns or gardens.
ANSWER: The incentive programs that we offer as part of the Conservation program were created to help residents develop more efficient landscaping and irrigation systems. Rain barrels are not currently allowed in Colorado. A rain barrel (if approved by the State legislature) would not help a water user become more efficient with their water usage. A rain barrel may reduce demand during the months when moisture is available to collect but is not a reliable resource when the weather is hot, dry, and demands are highest. During dry times, rain barrel users would have to supplement with Town supplies and the Town needs this water usage to be wise and efficient, which is how we arrived at the incentive programs discussed in the Plan.
2. QUESTION/COMMENT:
A. Promote devices like toilet fill-valves from Fluidmaster Model # 400LSRP14 which have active leak detection. People are not disciplined to check for leaks. This device is proactive - if there is a leak, the clutch does not let water into the tank. The next flush attempt is “dry” and the consumer must wait for the tank to fill - this is the indicator there is a leak that needs to be repaired.
B. Implement AMI consumer "above utilization" electronic notification (text / e-mail) which is compatible with the newer electronic water meters. Several of my neighbors had water pipe breaks that could have been detected before receiving their next month’s water bill.
C. Update local building code to reduce hot water runs. The hot water route to my kitchen sink in my home (built in 2000) is 16 feet longer than necessary which consumes between 500 to 750 gallons per year waiting for hot water. I plan to reroute the path.
D. Update local building code to properly insulate pipes in walls when finished basements are retrofitted after home construction. To encourage compliance, impose a fine on the contractor for the violation. At least 30% of my neighbors have had water pipe breaks in two years.
E. Improve the current water billing algorithm (tiered structure) to further promote conservation and discourage high use. An approach could be to aggregate the “Renewable Water Resource Charge”, divide by the towns total water consumption, and integrate that charge directly into the per gallon consumption.
Example: Assume a community of 10 households with a total of 50,000 gallons consumption. The Renewable Water Resource Charge is currently $25.00/month or $250.00 for the community. 50,000 / $250.00 = $5.00 per 1,000 gallons. Two consumers use 2,000 gallons per month and pay $10.00 as their contribution to the Renewable Water Resource Charge - a savings of $15.00 each. The other 8 consumers use 50,000 - 4,000 = 46,000; or, an average of 5,750 gallons per month. 5.75 rounded to 6 * $5.00 = $30.00. $30.00 * 8 consumers = $240 + $20 for the 2,000 gallon consumers = $260. For this month, the aggregate is $10.00 higher due to rounding. However, as you know, rounding will average over time to collect the determined target. The result rewards conservative households and encourages higher users to look into better conservation methods.
ANSWER: Thank you for your valuable feedback on our draft Water Efficiency Master Plan. I appreciate examples of how each item affected you or your neighbors and friends. The Town is currently evaluating the economic feasibility of AMI because it does have many benefits for both the Town and the customers. We will discuss these other items as a group and incorporate as necessary.
Minor changes in the Plan language have been made to allow flexibility to investigate these conservation related items.
3. QUESTION/COMMENT: Front lawns use a lot of water but my HOA will not allow it [artificial turf]. They [HOA’s] allow back yards to have it [artificial turf]. Parks and schools have it [artificial turf]. Our water wiser program can't do anything about the HOA, but you sure can. I have a gardener who does a great job taking care of my lawn. The cost of artificial turf is not cheap. My math shows that it will take about 7 years to pay for itself. Make it [artificial turf] a choice to home owners for their front lawns. [For example] no builder can get permits unless they offer an option in the front yard for artificial turf. The Town has a lot of ways to influence change. I wanted to do this artificial turf to save water.
ANSWER: Thank you for your feedback on the Water Efficiency Master Plan. HOAs establish rules and regulations to protect the aesthetic value of the neighborhood and the Town supports that function.
Additional correspondence with this customer regarding this issue was made through the Town Mayor and Utilities Director. Staff followed-up with a voicemail to the customer.
Budget Impact
There may be some budget impacts related to some of the specific efficiency initiatives that will be evaluated as part of this Plan. Any selected efficiency initiatives that are determined to be economically beneficial for the Town will be included in the annual budget.
At this time, no additional funding is needed to provide a draft Plan for public comment. Staff anticipates that multiple hard copies of the final 2015 Water Efficiency Master Plan will be made available for public use. The printing of the hard copies will use existing fund resources. A hard copy of the Plan will reside with the Town Clerk and hard copy versions available for purchase will be located at the Utilities Department. Electronic copies on compact disc (CD) will be available at $5 each. Staff plans to recoup the printing cost. Staff budgeted $3,113 in the 2015 Water Conservation Printing and Binding budget 211-4330-443.50-40. To date, the full budget remains intact.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that Town Council approve the final version of the 2015 Water Efficiency Master Plan and submit the Plan to CWCB for approval.
Motion
I move to approve a Resolution adopting the 2015 Water Efficiency Master Plan.
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Exhibit 1: Plan