Colorado Water
Here's an article with some detail about the way Las Vegas is dealing with the drought and encouraging conservation from the Rocky Mountain News [December 9, 2004, "Water-sharing called key to Vegas' drought success"]. From the article, "Mulroy's main message: Get rid of boundaries, forget whose water rights are oldest and agree to share whatever water is available. Choked by the same dry spell that's dogging Colorado and other Western states, the fast-growing gambling mecca first budgeted $14 million to fund water conservation programs, then bumped it to $22 million, and this year is on track to pay out $32 million to encourage its customers to slash water use - permanently, Mulroy said. And it's working. Use has dropped below 270,000 acre-feet annually, down from 325,000 acre-feet before the drought. An acre-foot equals about 326,000 gallons, enough to serve up to two families for one year...The coalition is composed of the Douglas County Water Resource Authority, Centennial Water and Sanitation District, the town of Castle Rock, East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District, Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority and water districts in the Castle Pines North, Cottonwood, Meridian, Inverness, Stonegate and Roxborough Park areas."
Here's the coverage of yesterday's water summit down at Highlands Ranch from the Denver Post [December 9, 2004, "Water-supply solution elusive"]. From the article, "Elected officials and leaders from 11 utilities in the two counties met Wednesday in a day-long summit in Highlands Ranch. Everyone agreed that egos and competing interests will have to be put aside to sustain their water supply, as the aquifer that feeds the region continues to dwindle. The group discussed bedrock beginnings, such as the type of organization that should be formed, how board members would be appointed and whether the legislature, the courts or local governments should engineer its formation...Expanding Chatfield Reservoir and using the extra storage for municipal uses in the region. Injecting the aquifer with billions of gallons of river water annually in wet years. The water would be collected in Denver Water's reservoirs in the South Platte and Blue River basins and pumped to the Front Range. The water-supply problem will only grow worse if officials dawdle: The dramatic growth of the past two decades is expected to continue in the two counties, swelling from 179,000 people to possibly 406,000 by 2040, according to the water study. Even with best-case conservation efforts, demand for water will more than double in that span."
Meanwhile, Denver Water is raising rates to cover their shortfall in revenue, caused by conservation, according to the Rocky [December 9, 2004, "Water rate hike OK'd"]. From the article, "Denver Water on Wednesday approved a $240 million budget for 2005 that anticipates the drought will lift but that water use will remain down 11 percent. The budget includes an 8 percent rate increase for the utility's 1.2 million users starting in January. Normally, rates go up 3 to 5 percent per year. Also, service charges in September rose for most customers from $4.91 to $8.51 for a two-month period. Budget staffers Wednesday told the board that a "drought shadow" hangs over their estimates, a shadow cast by water users who have slashed consumption by 20 percent or more during the past three dry years. Even if the drought is over - and water board staffers said they won't know for sure until the spring - anticipated water use next year will be down 11 percent from historical norms, according to staff figures. In four years, water use might climb back to within 5 percent of average, but may stabilize there, board members learned."
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