To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Mark Marlow, P.E., Director of Castle Rock Water
Title
Resolution Approving the 2020 Conservation Rebate Incentive Program
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
The purpose of this memorandum is to request Town Council approval by resolution of the 2020
Conservation Rebate Incentive program (Attachment A).
The core rebate program remains intact, with only two proposed changes for 2020. Staff is
recommending the addition of a Toilet Retrofit rebate and a rebate for customer driven whole-home
water monitoring, leak detection, and automatic shut-off devices.
The proposed rebates for 2020 are:
• SmartScape Renovation - $1.10 per square foot of high water use plant material removed
(minimum of 250 sq. ft., maximum rebate of $1,500 for residential and minimum of 1,500 sq. ft., maximum rebate of $15,000 for non-residential).
• Smart Irrigation Controllers - 50 percent of the cost of the controller up to $300 per controller;
maximum of $300 for residential; and $1,500 for non-residential customers.
• Rotary Nozzle Retrofit - Up to $5 per nozzle; maximum rebate of $2,000 for non-residential
Customers and no maximum for residential.
• Toilet Retrofit - Up to $125 per toilet; maximum rebate of $500 or four (4) toilets for residential and non-residential customers.
• Customer driven whole-home water monitoring, leak detection, and automatic shut-off
devices, $200 per customer account.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
All rebate opportunities and information are placed on the CR Conserve website (crconserve.com).
A press release is sent out. Information is also shared via Social Media.
Information is placed in Town Talk usually in March.
All information is shared at each Water Wiser presentation.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
Castle Rock Water staff presented this program to the Castle Rock Water Commission at their meeting held on January 22, 2020, and the Castle Rock Water Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the resolution by Town Council.
Discussion
The original Water Conservation Master Plan (WCMP) was adopted in 2006 with an overall goal of achieving a water savings of 18% (165 to 135 gallons per capita per day) through various programs.
The Castle Rock community, with the help of the Castle Rock Water team, has exceeded this goal. In 2015, the Water Resources / Conservation Division of Castle Rock Water updated this document as the Water Efficiency Master Plan (WEMP) which received approval from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) in February 2016. The new plan set a goal for per capita water use to
100 gallons per capita per day by 2055. The WEMP is scheduled for its next update in 2021.
One way Castle Rock Water continues to work toward sustaining and building on the conservation goals outlined in the original WCMP and the WEMP is by offering water efficiency rebates to the community. The WEMP called for evaluating options to expand this rebate program. Evaluation of potential changes to the program were conducted in 2019. Staff is recommending the addition of a toilet retrofit rebate program and rebates for customer driven whole-home water monitoring, leak detection, and automatic shut-off devices. The toilet rebate will incentivize replacement of 1.6 gallon per flush (GPF) or higher toilets with 0.8 GPF toilets.
The customer driven whole-home water monitoring, leak detection, and automatic shut-off devices will continuously monitor both indoor and outdoor water consumption and notify the homeowner if an abnormality is detected. Once notified, the homeowner can decide if this is a normal activity or if the water should be shut off. If the device does not receive a response, it will automatically shut the water off to protect the home from damage and reduce water waste. Some insurance companies are offering customers discounts on their homeowners insurance if they have these devices.
Overall funding for the 2020 rebate incentive programs (except the home monitoring program) is funded at the same level as in 2019. The home monitoring program will need to be added as a 1st Quarter Budget Amendment.
Budget Impact
The 2020 program will continue to be funded from revenue generated during 2019 from watering restriction violations and a portion of funds from the Block 4 surcharge rate. The average revenues generated and estimated costs for the violations program are shown on Attachment B. The total proposed rebate amount for 2020 is $45,000 for the residential conservation incentive program.
The total proposed amount allocated for the non-residential SmartScape Renovation program is
$90,000. This amount is to be broken up into blocks not to exceed $15,000 per account.
The total proposed amount allocated for the toilet retrofit program is $10,000. This rebate covers the cost of the toilet, up to $125, with a maximum of four (4) toilets per account. A draft policy for these rebates is provided in Attachment C.
The total proposed amount for the customer driven whole-home water monitoring, leak detection, and automatic shut-off device is $5,000. This rebate covers 50% of the cost of the device up to $200 per account. A 1st Quarter Budget Amendment will be requested to cover this program. A draft policy for this rebate is provided in Attachment D.
Attachment E summarizes the rebate activity for the previous three years, and sets the starting point for the current year program, and Attachment F summaries by category.
Staff Recommendation
Castle Rock Water staff recommends approval of the 2020 Conservation Rebate Incentive Program.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Attachment B: Rebates vs Surcharge Violation Revenues
Attachment C: Toilet Retrofit Policy
Attachment D: Whole Home Water Monitoring System Rebate Policy
Attachment E: Funding Summary
Attachment F: Funding by Category