To: Members of the Castle Rock Water Commission
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Director of Castle Rock Water
Sandi Aguilar, Customer Relations Program Manager
Title
Water Resources Strategic Master Plan Survey and Open House
Town Council Agenda Date: NA
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
The Water Resources Strategic Master Plan is one of the department's primary plans to ensure a strong water future for our community. Originally developed in 2006, after the impact of a major drought had leaders thinking about the future, the plan has been updated over the years. The next update is planned for this year.
Acquiring input from our customers is critical to the understanding and acceptance of the plan and several outreach avenues are in place. There is the webpage, CRgov.comWaterResourcesMasterPlan <http://crgov.com/3346/Water-Resources-Strategic-Master-Plan> which outlines the major accomplishments in water resources at Castle Rock Water for the past five years, and identifies the planned projects for the next five years. The page is broken out into the key priorities including groundwater, local sources, reuse water, imported water, storage and conservation. Additionally, there is a 13-question survey to obtain customer input. The plan outline and the link for the survey has been publicized on the billing statement, customer email newsletter and handouts provided at the Town Council open houses. An open house specifically to discuss the plan is scheduled for Thursday, October 21, 4 to 6 p.m. at the new Castle Rock Water Administration & Customer Service Building.
There has been an astonishing response to the online survey with 375 respondents as of Sept. 13, 2021. The survey will be open until Friday, October 22, 2021. Following is a summary of the results.
• 75% moderate conservation efforts should be taken
• 79% somewhat or strongly support renewable water from creeks
• 74% somewhat or strongly support reuse water
• 76% somewhat or strongly support purchasing storage supplies
• 53% somewhat or strongly confident CRW has financially feasible water supply solutions.
• 45% is somewhat concerned but feel the Town is on the right path. (38% somewhat or serious concerns)
• 45% is somewhat confident that the CRW has a good plan to secure the Town’s long-term water resources (15% not at all or not very confident)
• Comments included unsustainable growth (poor planning, too much), fee structure to encourage conservation, stronger conservation regulations for development, HOAs, etc., and there were also quite a few positive comments.
Similar outreach efforts were made for the 2016 update though emphasis was placed on in-person presentations to boards, commissions and civic organizations. There were only 69 respondents to the survey and they claimed they were aware of the water issues facing Castle Rock. However, their responses actually showed a general lack of knowledge regarding the projects and programs we have. Reuse water was a major focus of the outreach and there was strong support for reuse both in terms of acceptance and that is it the best option for supply. The attitude of the respondents regarding how Castle Rock Water is managing water was positive, but not strong. An open-ended comment section was provided and most respondents remarked on how growth was not being managed appropriately and was the primary cause for increased costs and limited supplies.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
August 2021
• Webpage, CRgov.comWaterResourcesMasterPlan <http://crgov.com/3346/Water-Resources-Strategic-Master-Plan>, published
• Billing statement notice sent
• Customer email newsletter with survey link
• Survey available
September 2021
• Town Council District Open Houses and handouts: 9/9, 9/16, 9/23, 9/30
• Survey available
October 2021
• WRSMP Open House, Oct. 21, 2021, 4-6 p.m.
• Survey available through Oct. 22