Denver Water’s newly announced 10- year plan to cut annual water use by 22 percent is a rational and attainable response to the continuing growth of this semi-arid region.
Unlike the seasonal watering restrictions that come and go with droughts, much of the new conservation effort is aimed at cutting use inside homes and businesses. More attention will be devoted to existing programs such as offering homeowners rebates for low-flow toilets and efficient appliances. The plan also proposes setting water-efficiency standards for new construction. Businesses would be required to install low- flow fixtures in restrooms.
One new wrinkle is a proposal to inspect existing homes before they are sold and requiring the replacement of leaky faucets, shower heads and toilets. For homes destined for major remodeling or “scrapeoffs,” the requirement would apply to the new construction.
Cutting down indoor water use is expected to provide about a third of the 16.7 billion gallons Denver Water hopes to save during the next 10 years. Other actions, such as adding irrigation water meters and removing park lawns, are aimed at municipal and commercial customers.
Indoor conservation measures are doubly important because they will help ease water planners’ concerns about a long-term “hardening of demand” that can complicate responses in drought years.
Overall, roughly half of Denver Water’s supply is used for outdoor irrigation. It is relatively easy to cut back on washing cars and watering lawns in droughts. Indeed, since drought gripped the region in 2002, Denver Water customers have cut their annual consumption by about 20 percent, to 64 billion gallons last year.
But even in droughts, homeowners still have to flush their toilets and wash clothes. As this “hard” year-round demand grows from the influx of new residents, it can consume a larger share of reservoir capacities – making it more difficult to stretch supplies in future droughts by just reducing outdoor use. That’s why it makes sense to reduce water usages within homes and new businesses using both modern plumbing and by fixing leaks.
Denver Water doesn’t have a detailed plan yet because the agency is working closely with cities, real estate agents and homebuilders to shape its conservation goals into rules backed, where necessary, by municipal ordinances. That collaborative process is as wise as the conservation objectives themselves.
