HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 6/15/2021 - Memorandum From Mariel Miller And Abbye Neel Re: 2020 Water Conservation Annual Report
Utilities
electric · stormwater · wastewater · water
222 Laporte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580
970.212.2900
V/TDD: 711
utilities@fcgov.com
fcgov.com/utilities
M E M O R A N D U M
DATE: June 4, 2021
TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Mariel Miller, Water Conservation Specialist
Abbye Neel, Interim Water Conservation Manager
THROUGH: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager
Theresa Connor, Interim Utilities Executive Director
RE: 2020 Water Conservation Annual Report
Bottom Line: In 2020, water use was 138 gallons per capita per day (GPCD), only 6%
above the Fort Collins Utilities Water Efficiency Plan (WEP) goal of 130 GPCD by 2030.
This memo provides an update on the progress toward the WEP goal and includes a copy of the
2020 Water Conservation Annual Report. Water Conservation programs, services (131 million
gallons) and water restrictions (105 million gallons) reduced use over 236 million gallons (MG)
(up 51 MG or 28% from 2019) and is about 2.8 % of the total water treated in 2020.
Water Efficiency Plan Goal: The current WEP, approved by City Council in early 2016, sets a
conservation goal and guides the Water Conservation Team regarding services, programs,
incentives, public education, and regulations. Water efficiency aligns with numerous plans and
policies, including the 2020 City Strategic Plan Environmental Health outcomes, specifically
Objective 4.4 – Provide a reliable, high-quality water supply, Our Climate Future, and Colorado
Water Plan. Conservation programs benefit Utilities by delaying or avoiding significant capital
costs and benefit customers through reduced water bills. The additional benefits to the City and
the community include development of a conservation ethic, demonstration of a commitment to
sustainability, support of economic health, enhanced resilience during drought periods, and the
preparation for potential effects of climate change.
The current WEP goal is to reduce Utilities’ water service area use to 130 GPCD by 2030.
(A description of the GPCD metric is provided below.) The GPCD for 2020 is 138. This
means our community must use about 6%less water to reach our goal in 10 years. The 10-
year average is 144 GPCD and the five-year average (2016-2020) is about 142 GPCD. This
can be achieved if existing programs continue to be improved and supported, and
identified programmatic gaps and codes are addressed over the next 10 years. Climate
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change will challenge water efficiency goals and will need to be considered in the next
update to the WEP; hotter and drier weather increases outdoor water demands.
The first formal plan for managing water use for Fort Collins Utilities started with the Water
Demand Management Policy in 1992. Over the years, this effort was combined with supply
planning in the Water Supply and Demand Management Policy (Policy). This Policy sets high
level goals and direction. The Policy points to the WEP, which outlines strategies and tactics to
accomplish the high-level goals. Water providers of a certain size are required by the Colorado
Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to have a WEP. An update to the WEP is planned in 2023-
2024, that will align the timing and associated changes with updates made to Utilities’ Policy for
a more integrated effort.
The WEP identifies five key areas of opportunity:
Leverage Advanced Meter Fort Collins data and capabilities
Promote and support greater outdoor water efficiency
Encourage greater integration of water efficiency into land use planning and building codes
Expand commercial and industrial sector strategies
Increase community water literacy
What is GPCD? The metric is calculated as total treated water divided by the estimated
population and 365 days. This metric reflects all water uses: residential, commercial, irrigation,
etc.1 The GPCD reflects a wide variety of uses and may increase with significant changes to our
commercial customer base, for example. Our annual GPCD is expected to reflect the weather
conditions of the year. This is a good thing because it means our customers respond (e.g.,
reducing irrigation when it rains). The overall trend across years shows progress toward our
WEP goal. An unprecedented year, 2020 had multiple uncommon factors influencing water
demands: hot and dry irrigation season; COVID-19 and Colorado’s Stay at Home Order and
Safer at Home Guidelines; and outdoor water restrictions from Oct. 1 to Nov. 9. Residential use
was higher than normal and commercial use saw fluctuations throughout the year, likely in
response to drought and COVID-19 protocols. Outdoor water restrictions resulted in a sharp drop
in water use, starting Oct. 1 (see graph below).
1 The residential (single-family and multi-family) GPCD in 2020 is 76 GPCD, up from 69 GPCD in 2019.
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Staff recognizes that averaging all water use over an entire year may not accurately represent use
by an individual resident or business, or seasonal variations. The City’s public-facing
Community Dashboard represents GPCD quarterly, instead of annually, to highlight how use
fluctuates with the seasons and is broken out by residential and commercial customer use. This
metric is a step toward helping make the WEP goal more tangible and accessible to the average
customer. Staff compile the data from our Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system.
The image below shows the community dashboard water use chart. This information is online at:
https://fortcollins.clearpointstrategy.com/environmental-health-2/community-water-use-per-
capita/
2020 Water Savings Results: Water Conservation programs helped customers save an
estimated 131 MG in 2020, about 29% less than the 185 million gallons saved in 2019. Two key
factors impacted program savings: 1) the record hot, dry summer, which increased demand, and
2) reduced program participation rates due to COVID-19. An additional 105 million gallons
were reduced due to outdoor water use restrictions in Oct. 2020, bringing the total amount
conserved and reduced to 236 million gallons, about 29% more than 2019 (no restrictions were
enacted in 2019)(236 MG is equivalent to the average annual use of over 2,800 single-family
homes.2) The following chart shows the increasing trend in water conservation program
effectiveness since 2013:
2 Average annual use of a Fort Collins Utilities’ single -family residential customer is estimated to be about 83,000
gallons based on data from 2014-2019
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2020 Highlights:
Programs, Events and Outreach were impacted in 2020 due to the COVID-19
pandemic. There were less opportunities to connect with customers and promote
programs and services; however, staff organized or participated in 26 virtual or socially
distanced events, which connected with over 625 people. Programs were adopted to
include new COVID-19 protocols to ensure safe and effective services.
New Large Scale Landscape Programs supported 13 projects that are estimated to save
over 4.6 million gallons annually. Water Conservation Staff submitted a WaterSMART
Bureau of Reclamation Grant for $200,000 for funding resources. If awarded, funds will
enable Staff to continue supporting the successful landscape conservation programs
beyond 2021.
Water Shortage Action Plan (WSAP): Staff completed updates to the previous Water
Supply Shortage Response Plan with unanimous support and adoption by Council in
April 2020. In August, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) reviewed and
approved the WSAP, making Fort Collins Utilities eligible to receive grant funding from
CWCB for water shortage planning related efforts. The newly updated WSAP was used
to implement water restrictions Oct 1, 2020, successfully mitigating risks associated with
the Horsetooth Outlet Project (HOP), Cameron Peak Fire, and severe drought.
Water Restrictions were in effect Oct. 10 – Nov 9 to lower risk from drought and
wildfire and to support completion of Horsetooth Outlet Project (HOP), saving 105
million gallons and avoiding a water shortage and potential service interruptions. Over
1.4 million “touches” resulted from an extensive communication plan, and feedback was
overwhelmingly positive.
District Coordination associated with the Sprinkler Audit Program was successful in
2020. Following a surge of audit sign ups from Fort Collins-Loveland Water District
(FCLWD), the total number of audits was expanded to meet customer needs.
Coordination continued during HOP and water restrictions. Co-branded postcards
notifications for water restrictions and HOP were delivered to all Utilities customers,
even those outside of the water service area. The Tri-Districts, excluding FCLWD, and
West Fort Collins Water District, adopted similar mandatory water restrictions as Fort
Collins Utilities starting Oct 1. FCLWD opted for a voluntary approach.
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Customer monitoring portal registration increased by 178% and Staff transitioned the
residential leak notification program from an in-house process to a faster and more
automated method of notification: sending email or text notifications through the
MyWater portal, which saved staff time as well. Over 11,500 leak alerts were sent to
customers through MyWater, that reduced the number of postcards/letters sent, stopped
water waste faster, improved the customer experience, and reduced paper waste.
For more information, please see the attached report and visit the following:
Water Efficiency Plan (WEP) fcgov.com/water-efficiency-plan
Residential programs: fcgov.com/save-water
Commercial programs fcgov.com/water-efficiency
Horsetooth Outlet Project: fcgov.com/HOP
Water restrictions: fcgov.com/water-restrictions
CC: Gretchen Stanford, Interim Utilities Deputy Director, Customer Connections
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