HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 09/02/2025 - Memorandum from Katie Collins re 2024 Water Conservation Annual Report1
Memorandum
Date:
To:
Through:
From:
Subject:
August 28, 2025
Mayor and City Councilmembers
Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager
Nicole Poncelet-Johnson, One Water Executive Director
Katie Collins, Specialist, Water Conservation, kcollins@fcgov.com
2024 Water Conservation Annual Report
Bottom Line
This memo accompanies the 2024 Water Conservation Annual Report, which highlights
accomplishments and activities that occurred in 2024. In addition to summarizing the report, this
memo provides context on the Water Efficiency Plan (WEP), Water Conservation’s approach to
tracking conservation progress, and a summary of current and upcoming priorities for the Water
Conservation team.
Water Efficiency Plan
The current WEP, completed in 2015, serves as the guiding framework for the Water Utilities’
water conservation efforts. It establishes a goal of reducing water use within the Utilities’ service
area to 130 gallons per capita per day (GPCD) by 2030. The plan identifies five strategic areas
of focus:
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.
Staff are seeking Council approval of an updated Water Efficiency Plan on September 2, 2025.
The revised plan will move away from a single GPCD target and instead adopt a 4% system-
wide water use reduction goal along with a City-owned landscape resiliency goal. These
updated metrics are intended to more accurately reflect the dynamic impacts of population
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growth and climate variability. GPCD and other metrics will still be measured and tracked but
won’t be the focus of measuring progress.
2024 GPCD
In 2024, system-wide water use was 135 gallons per capita per day (GPCD), a 15% increase
over 2023. This increase is largely attributed to the unusually wet 2023 irrigation season, which
saw 123% of normal precipitation, which lead to reduced outdoor watering. In contrast, the 2024
irrigation season returned to conditions more in line with the 10-year average, contributing to
higher water use. When compared to the five-year average (2018–2022), the 2024 GPCD
remains only slightly higher—by approximately one gallon per capita.
While GPCD is a common industry metric, it can be misleading because it doesn’t account for
key variables such as commercial water use patterns, population fluctuations from visitors, and
weather impacts on outdoor use. Additionally, differences in how utilities measure water—such
as the inclusion of system losses, exclusion of large contractual or raw water users—can
significantly affect GPCD calculations.
2024 Water Savings
In addition to being responsible stewards of water resources, Water Conservation is one of the
most cost-effective strategies to increase reliability and reduce the need to acquire additional
costly water supplies. As the cost to acquire and develop water supplies continues to rise
across the state, investing in Water Conservation programs is a valuable tool for water resource
planning and management.
The Water Conservation team delivers a diverse range of programs and services for both
commercial and residential customers, addressing indoor and outdoor water use. Some
initiatives, like education and outreach, provide valuable benefits but are difficult to quantify
water savings. Sixteen programs in the Water Conservation portfolio achieve measurable water
savings. Notably, for things like fixture or landscape installations, water savings typically persist
annually throughout the lifespan of the products. However, current reporting only estimates and
credits these savings in the first year, omitting the continued savings in subsequent years.
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Water Conservation programs helped customers save an estimated 179.6 million gallons in
2024.
2025 Efforts
Complete and Implement Current Projects
o Water Efficiency Plan Update
o Landscape Amendments in Land Use Code Section 5.10.1
o Growing Water Smart Action Plan in collaboration with Water Resources and
Planning Departments
o Building Code Amendment to adopt the Water Demand Calculator for estimating
residential indoor water demand
o Landscape grant for Habitat for Humanity affordable housing development
Support and Improve Existing Programs and Services
o Xeriscape Incentive Program for residential and commercial customers
o Garden in a Box
o Sprinkler Checkups through Resource Central
o Efficient Product Installations and Rebates
o Home Water Reports
o Continuous Consumption notifications
o Irrigation plan review
o Xeriscape Demonstration Garden at City Hall
o FoCo EcoFest featuring the Xeriscape Garden Party and Native Plant Swap
o Water-Wise Landscape and Irrigation Professionals
Use Resources Effectively through Mutually Beneficial Partnerships and Collaboration
o Align the Xeriscape Incentive Program with Nature in the City’s grant program
o Support Neighborhood Service’s rental housing grants with water efficiency
options
o Develop the Regional Water Efficiency Incentives Portal with Northern Water,
City of Loveland, and City of Longmont
Attachments
1. 2024 Water Conservation Annual Report
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CC: Jill Oropeza, Senior Director, Integrated Water Sciences & Planning
Mariel Miller, Senior Manager, Water Conservation
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• Rebated 876 high-efficiency rotary nozzles saving over 1.3
million gallons (MG) of water annually.
• Sent 12,853 Leak Alerts, helping customers fix leaks sooner
saving an estimated 111 MG of water.
• Reviewed 276 irrigation designs, ensuring new commercial
landscapes meet high-efficiency irrigation codes.
• Welcomed 830 attendees to EcoFest/Xeriscape Garden Party
and helped 3,300 plants find new owners at the NoCo Native
Plant Swap.
• Provided 600 showerheads and 1,000 sink aerators at a large multi-
unit residential complex saving 3 MG of water. Customers received
the equipment and installation for free through Efficiency Works.
• Completed 77 residential and commercial Xeriscape Incentive
Program (XIP) projects.
• Updated City Code to limit landscapes on new commercial and multi-
unit residential developments to no more than an average 11 gallons
per square foot of water per year, which is 25% less than prior
code requirements.
• Engaged with the community and stakeholders to gather input
from over 5,000 interactions, helping shape the next
Water Efficiency Plan. The plan will establish
new goals for water use across the
City and community, along with
the strategies to achieve them.
Adoption is anticipated in 2025.
Fort Collins Utilities has a strong commitment to ensuring the
efficient and responsible use of our natural resources. Our
Water Conservation Program started in 1977 and we continue to
innovate how we help the community use water wisely.
135 GPCD | Gallons per Capita per Day (GPCD) is a way to
measure how much water, on average, each person uses
per day. It includes all water use—at home, at work, and in
businesses—divided by the number of people who live here.
We’re progressing toward our current goal of lowering use to
130 GPCD by 2030.
WATER CONSERVATION BY THE NUMBERS2024
Since 2016, 581
XIP participants
have renovated 33
acres of Fort Collins
landscape to reduce
their total annual
outdoor water use
by 8.6 MG.
2024 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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2,224 homes’ annual water use was saved in 2024 based on average detached-home use.
WATER DEMAND BY MONTH
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG OCT NOV DECSEPT
Commercial - Outdoor | 1195 MG
Residential - Outdoor | 1449 MG
Commercial - Indoor | 1193 MG
Residential (Multi-Unit Dwelling) - Indoor | 890 MG
Residential (Detached & Duplex) - Indoor | 1253 MG
10-Year Average
Bi
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W
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Months
ESTIMATED WATER SAVINGS OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
RESIDENTIAL
RESIDENTIAL TOTAL70.1 MG COMMERCIAL TOTAL109.5 MG
TOTAL ANNUALSAVINGS:179.6
million gallons
TOTAL3.6
million gallons
E cient Product Installations
(Larimer County): 3,624,309
Indoor Water Savings Indoor Water Savings
E ciency Rebates: 5,085,926
E cient Product
Installations: 287,579
TOTAL5.4
million gallons
Outdoor Water SavingsTOTAL2.0
million gallons Landscape Conversions: 443,508
Irrigation Rebates: 1,510,158
TOTAL1.9
million gallons
Sprinkler Checkups: 830,000
Landscape Conversions: 1,045,170
Outdoor Water Savings
TOTAL64.6
million gallons
Home Water Reports: 53,000,000
E ciency Rebates: 3,258,059
Continuous Consumption
(Leak) Notifications: 8,325,962
Combination Savings
Combination Savings
Continuous Consumption (Leak)
Notifications: 102,193,435
TOTAL102.2
million gallons
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