Coyote Gulch salutes Denver Water for continuing to push conservation. They are leading the way to sustainable water supplies for the Front Range. Here's an article from today's Rocky Mountain News highlighting their conservation program [October 27, 2005, "Conservation in works"]. From the article, "Denver Water on Wednesday unveiled its newest proposals to cut water use in 2006, including rebates for installation of high-efficiency appliances and buying back saved water from major industrial users. The latest proposals largely build on existing programs, and include spending on research to determine how major users could save massive volumes of water used for processes from industrial cooling to hotel dishwashing. Denver Water customers have been remarkably cooperative in saving water since a multiyear drought settled over Colorado in 2002. But now, with a growing impression that the drought is easing, Denver Water officials want to find ways to make those savings permanent. 'We need to find out if we can keep (the conservation) up,' said Liz Gardener, manager of water conservation for the utility, which serves about 1.2 million people in Denver and several surrounding suburbs. 'We don't know if we can sustain it.' Prior to the drought years that began in 2002, Denver Water customers each used an average of 211 gallons per day. After three years of advertising and media reports about water shortages, the number has fallen to 165 gallons - a figure that Denver Water wants to lock in as its long-term goal for 2016 to avoid backsliding. Conservation proposals most relevant to homeowners include $150,000 set aside to reimburse those who install rain sensors or other controls that limit sprinkler systems to providing only what moisture a lawn needs. Another possibility includes budgeting $300,000 for rebates for anyone installing low-water toilets and washing machines. The utility wants to create new services, such as providing continuing consulting expertise to big water users on ways to conserve."
Category: Colorado Water
6:47:06 AM 
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