Fort Collins, Colorado Utility to Educate and Financially Incentivize Customers Re Water Conservation: Higher Water Rates on the Way (Coloradoan)

Feb.24, 2009 in Water Conservation

(Feb. 24, 2009, Coloradoan)

Plans to ramp up water conservation efforts in Fort Collins include a couple of tried-and-true methods – education and financial incentives.

Putting those plans to work would likely mean higher rates for water customers even as average per capita demand for water decreases, officials say.

Using less water has broad impacts, including prolonging the longevity of facilities that deliver water, said Patty Bigner, spokeswoman for Fort Collins Utilities.

“In the long term, saving water is good for supplies and our infrastructure,” she said. “Conservation is economical.”

The City Council today is scheduled to review a proposed water conservation plan aimed at reducing the average daily use of water by about 10 percent.

The city has promoted water conservation for several years and has seen a drop in use from an average of 200 gallons per day per person at the start of the decade to about 155 gallons. The plan’s goal is to get the number down to 140 gallons by 2020.

The proposed plan includes offering rebates to homeowners for installing high-efficiency toilets and updating irrigation-system technology. It also calls for more public education, such as clinics on xeriscaping.

Commercial and institutional customers also would be offered incentives for installing water-efficient appliances as well as toilets and urinals.

Restaurants might be offered new spray valves that reduce the amount of water used during rinsing of dishes before they go into a washing machine from three to 10 gallons per minute to 1.6 gallons per minute.

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Installing high-efficiency water nozzles is a “no-brainer,” said Scott Smith, president of CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing in Old Town.

The restaurant already participates in city programs aimed at helping businesses reduce their use of energy and water, he said. The restaurant and its employees are working to be as “green” as possible, he said.

Businesses have a financial incentive for conserving resources, he said, but also have a stake in the health of the environment.

“We’re trying not to be the pig that restaurants can be when it comes to using energy and water,” Smith said. “It’s a matter of social responsibility. … And if we can reduce costs at the same time, that’s all the better.”

Current water conservation programs cost about $244,500 a year. If the conservation plan is adopted and its recommendations make it through the city’s budget process, that cost could jump to $885,625 by 2012.

The increased funding is likely to come through higher rates, said Dennis Bode, water resources manager for the utilities department. How rates would change depends on several factors, he said.

Water consumption has dropped since the drought year of 2002 in part because of tiered water rates, which charge incrementally more for greater use, and public awareness of the importance of conservation, Bode said.

“I think the message is getting through,” he said.

Installing high-efficiency water nozzles is a “no-brainer,” said Scott Smith, president of CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing in Old Town.

The restaurant already participates in city programs aimed at helping businesses reduce their use of energy and water, he said. The restaurant and its employees are working to be as “green” as possible, he said.

Businesses have a financial incentive for conserving resources, he said, but also have a stake in the health of the environment.

“We’re trying not to be the pig that restaurants can be when it comes to using energy and water,” Smith said. “It’s a matter of social responsibility. … And if we can reduce costs at the same time, that’s all the better.”

Current water conservation programs cost about $244,500 a year. If the conservation plan is adopted and its recommendations make it through the city’s budget process, that cost could jump to $885,625 by 2012.

The increased funding is likely to come through higher rates, said Dennis Bode, water resources manager for the utilities department. How rates would change depends on several factors, he said.

Water consumption has dropped since the drought year of 2002 in part because of tiered water rates, which charge incrementally more for greater use, and public awareness of the importance of conservation, Bode said.

“I think the message is getting through,” he said.

(Original Article Here)