City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811

Making More Water Available

HistoryWe stand on the shoulders of giants

o Delph Carpenter: father of Colorado River Compact

o W.D. Farr: Northern Water chairmanAgriculture is in our blood

o Founded in 1870 as an agricultural utopiao Weld is 4th or 5th most productive county in the country

Greeley is in a semi-arid climate; we only get 12-14 inches of precipitation each year.

Today: Greeley serves 122,944 customers; city projected to grow to 250,000 by 2050

City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811

A Widely Spread System

ChallengesGrowth

o Our children and grandchildren will over half of our growth.

Need for additional water supplieso Desire to develop supplies in collaboration with agricultural communityo Increasing competition for limited supplies

Need for more storage for additional water supplieso Haven’t significantly expanded storage since 1960o Challenges of permitting

Challenging economic climate: budget conscious customersPlanning uncertainties: climate change, drought

City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811

Our Four-Point PlanMaking more water available Improving Conservation Strengthening Infrastructure Continuing Water Acquisition Expanding Water Storage

City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811

ConservationStep #1: Maximize the use of what we haveWatering restrictions every summer for 109 yearsConservation program one most successful in ColoradoBetween 1990 and 2007, universal metering and other

conservation programs dropped water demand > 20% What do you do with this “made” water?

Sell taps against it?Keep it to improve system reliability?

City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811

Water Budget Based Rates● Rate innovation — a “water budget” pilot program:

all you need at the lowest rate; waste becomes expensive● A simple tiered rate structure would be unfair in Greeley

because:o Wide variation in lot sizes, and o Historic raw water dedication policies

● Water budget takes into account the customer’s lot size, family size, and monthly irrigation demand

● Will be informational first year

City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811

InfrastructureStep #2: Maintain your system. Keep it working efficiently &

effectivelyGreeley has a fully-funded extensive rehabilitation program

Lining all pre-1950 pipe with cement mortar to improve life and improve water pressure throughout downtown.

Water loss rate about 5%; lower than industry standard of 10%Build infrastructure to stretch what you have the right to use

Extensive use of ditch water for non-potable irrigationReuse of all wastewater effluent legally permitted

City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811

Continued Water Acquisition● Step #3: Look ahead and plan for future needs● The South Platte basin in 2050 is estimated to be short 360,000 acre-feet,

even if all proposed projects are completed● All eyes are looking north: threat to irrigated agriculture● Greeley has a history of purchasing water in advance of need

● 1947 Poudre Reservoirs; 1955 C-BT; 1991-92 Greeley & Loveland Irrigation● Completing 6,000 ac-ft purchase in multiple parts: storage and water stock ● Plans to purchase additional 10,000 ac-ft of ag water

But we do so with a commitment to cooperate with the agricultural community

Greeley will continue to lease back the water to farmers, allowing them to continue farming while ensuring a secure future supply

City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811

New StorageStep #4: Storage must be sufficient to protect the City against

drought and to hold spring runoff for use in the summerPermitting process underway to expand Milton Seaman

Reservoir from 5,000 AF to 53,000 AFo Traditional vs. Innovative permitting process: Shared Vision Planning

Participants: The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, Division of Wildlife, US Forest Service, and others

Goal: Determine if expansion of Seaman and Halligan can meet ag, industrial, environmental and municipal needs while improving stream flows on the North Fork and main stem of the Poudre

The first time SVP has been used during the permitting phase of a water storage project

City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811

To SummarizeGreeley’s water system and supply has a strong

foundation built by visionary leaders.Collaboration with the agricultural and other regional

communities has been key to our success in the past and will be key to our future.

Several challenges lay ahead, but our 4-Point Plan utilizes the best of our pass successes and new innovative programs to make more water available and secure our water future.

Questions?

City of Greeley Water & Sewer Department ● 1100 10th Street, Suite 300 Greeley, CO 80631 www.greeleygov.com/water ● (970) 350-9811