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Greeley's Water Budget Trial Program
Greeley's 2003 Water Master Plan calls for improved water conservation as a cornerstone of a secure water future. Today, Greeley has one of the most successful conservation programs in the state. To continue these efforts to encourage water use efficiency, Greeley's Water and Sewer Department has begun a Water Budget Trial. This project is one of the Greeley City Council's Work Priorities for 2012.
A Water Budget is intended to get customers who far exceed their actual need to reduce their consumption. The Water Budget provides individual households with a monthly estimate of their projected water requirements based on individual lot size and assumed persons per household. The Water Budget Study is a four-year process to evaluate the effectiveness of empowering customers with information to improve their water efficiency.
- The first year of the program was completed in 2011. A small sample set of volunteer customers were given water bills showing their previous month's actual use compared to what they should have used, based on temperature, rainfall, irrigable area, and inside demand.
- 2012 will expand the study to a random sample of up to 1,000 residential customers in addition to existing volunteers. The water budget will be modified to forecast the customer's water demand, based on historic averages, instead of calculating the previous month's water needs based on actual temperatures and rainfall as was done in 2011. The modified plan will allow customers to be aware of their water budget prior to their water usage.
- The third year of the study will expand the program to all residential customers, citywide.
- In 2014, results of providing information to customers in the Water Budget study will be evaluated and individualized tiered rates may be introduced to send a price signal to those customers who continue to use water far in excess of their actual need.
For more information, view our frequently asked questions below. |
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Water Budget Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a Water Budget?
A Water Budget defines the amount of water each customer needs when used efficiently. It is intended to get customers who far exceed their actual need to reduce their consumption. The Water Budget provides individual households with a monthly estimate of their projected water requirements based on individual lot size and assumed persons per household.
- Why is Greeley doing an Informational Water Budget?
Greeley’s 2003 Water Master Plan calls for improved water conservation as a cornerstone of a secure water future. Today, Greeley has one of the most successful conservation programs in the state. To continue these efforts to encourage water use efficiency, Greeley’s water bills must address conservation.
In addition, our customers want a more informative water bill. This was developed, in part, based on customer questions, in an effort to determine how much water is needed to be efficient and maintain a healthy, green lawn. Other cities have used the Water Budget approach as a new rate structure to charge residents for use above the Water Budget. At this time, Greeley is just providing information only, instead of charging a higher per thousand-gallon rate for excessive use. We are trying to determine if additional efficiency can be achieved with information only. Greeley parks and golf courses have used a Water Budget approach for 10 years and this program has increased lawn watering efficiency in our parks.
- How is the Water Budget calculated?
The total monthly Water Budget will be a combination of indoor and outdoor allotments.
The indoor allotment is based on the number of persons per household multiplied by 55 gallons per person per day. For example, if you have four persons in your household, your indoor allotment (rounded up to the nearest thousand) will be 4 persons x 55 gallons per person x 30 days for a total of 7 thousand gallons.
The outdoor Water Budget is 18.5 gallons per square foot (gpsf) for the entire irrigation season. The outdoor budget is based on historic averages and a liberal estimate of the irrigated area on the property. The irrigable area was defined for each individual customer using Weld County Assessor parcel data, aerial photography, and planimetric data (structures, pavement). The following table lists the allocations by month.
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Outdoor Annual Allocation |
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Inches |
Gal/Sq. Ft. |
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April |
1.75 |
1.09 |
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May |
4.25 |
2.65 |
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June |
6.00 |
3.74 |
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July |
6.75 |
4.21 |
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August |
5.50 |
3.43 |
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September |
4.00 |
2.49 |
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October |
1.50 |
0.94 |
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Total |
29.75 |
18.54 |
- How did you determine the number of people in a household?
To configure the Water Budget, every account in the city is allocated 4 persons per household and 7,000 gallons as their indoor budget. The average family size in Greeley is 3.37 persons per household. Project participants with more people in their homes can contact us at (970) 336-4134 or conserve@greeleygov.com and we will provide a new calculation. If less people live in a home, participants you do not need to contact us, just figure that indoor use should be about 1 to 2 thousand gallons per person.
- Is there a way to gage my water use during the month?
Yes. Greeley Water and Sewer provides electronic water meters monitor to check water use. The units also haves an optional leak detection alert, to help you find a household leak. The unit has a magnet built into the case and the monitor can be conveniently located on a refrigerator door. Please call (970) 336-4134 to reserve your water monitor. It will be programmed for your home meter and then it will be ready for you to pick it up. More information on the Orion water meters is available on this online users guide at the following link: http://greeleygov.com/Water/Documents/Water%20Meter%20Monitor-User.pdf
- Will project participants who do not use their water efficiently face penalties?
No. If a participant goes over their water use target, water conservation programs or techniques may be suggested to increase efficiency and lower customer bills. Greeley’s water conservation program offers indoor audits, sprinkler system audits, rebates, and educational programs to help customers find and implement water saving solutions. Please call 970-336-4134 or visit our audit webpage to schedule an audit or to get additional information.
- What are the benefits from a Water Budget program?
The Water Budget will identify inefficient use, reduces demand, peak water use, and citywide gallons per capita day (gpcd). This can delay expensive water system upgrades and the purchase of costly new water supplies. For example, only 8% of customers used more than 24 gpsf in the 2009 irrigation season. If those using more than 24 gpsf would improve efficiency to 18.5 gpsf, the city could save 468 acre-feet of water each year. If the City of Greeley were to purchase 468 acre-feet of water it would cost 3.7 million dollars.
A Water Budget program will also make all water customers aware of monthly outdoor water use. Many people program their sprinkler system using a “set it and forget it” mindset. The irrigation system waters the lawn with an appropriate program for July, in the shoulder months like April, May, September and October when the water requirement is considerably less. Increasing awareness on this issue through the water budget can show a big savings in the shoulder months.
- What are the plans for the Water Budget beyond 2012?
In 2013, the study will expand the program to all residential customers, citywide. In 2014, the Water Budget study will be evaluated and individualized tiered rates may be introduced to send a price signal to those customers who continue to use water far in excess of their actual need. |
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