|
Minutes of the Meeting of CAC
Members in Attendance: Theresa
Worsham (Acting Chair), Tim Flynn, Staff: Marie Bassett, Margaret Medellin, John Loughry, Rocky Wiley and Joe Sloan Guests:
Jim Vasbinder, James Legas, Kiersten Faulkner, Theresa Jehn-Dellaport,
and Jody Randall Agenda and Minutes The Agenda and Minutes of
Staff
Update Marie
Bassett, Director of Public Affairs reported the following: Fire
– Staff have been investigating the cause of the reduced pressure at the
scene of a fire in Customer
Issues – Web trends show that the Denver Water’s web site had 30,000
hits last winter and 60,000 to 75,000 hits during the summer months.
The most downloaded information during the summer was the storage
levels in the reservoirs. It
appears more customers are going to the web site for information. Rebates
– Marie distributed a summary of the rebate programs.
Roberta asked if Denver Water would track the water savings from the
rebate programs. If the
programs are good and DW wants to do more rebate programs it would be
ideal to have some data on the water savings from those programs.
Larry asked that if new
rebate programs are discussed, those proposed programs should be reviewed
by the CAC. More guidelines
should be given in the programs which would result in more water savings.
Certain toilets are better than others and irrigation changes such
as new heads would save more water than a new control clock. Marie
stated that the savings for some of the rebate programs are easier to
quantify than others. DW will try to quantify the savings from the
programs. DW does know that
indoor savings will come from toilets and washers.
Also less water can be used outdoors with soil amendments, Xeric
plants and irrigation improvements which were all a part of the outdoor
program. Larry
stated that the best program is the Irrigation Incentive program and the
payments for that program should be doubled. Customer
Survey on Joe
Sloan, Community Relations, gave a summary of the results of the Customer
Survey. The results of the
survey are available on the Denver Water web site.
In addition to the survey two focus groups were held.
The general consensus of the survey was Denver Water had a good or
acceptable response to the drought. Roberta
wanted to know how the information from the survey will be used by
staff and the Board.
Margaret responded the information from the survey has been incorporated
into her work revising the Drought Response Plan and will continue to use
the information as restriction and surcharges are discussed. Discussion
of Updates to the Drought Response Plan Margaret
Medellin gave a presentation on proposed changes to the Drought Response
Plan (DRP). Margaret stressed
that the plan is a guide for staff and the Board.
It is a tool to help in the response to a drought but the Board is
not bound to the plan. The
revised DRP will be similar to the existing plan with the addition of a
few changes and new sections. Work
will be done to keep the impact of restrictions and surcharges spread
evenly among the customer base. However,
staff realizes that DW’s response to the drought will impact some groups
more than others such as businesses that rely on outdoor water use
(landscapers, nurseries, sod farms, etc).
Jody
Randall stated that she works for a
contractor that was impacted by the restrictions.
There is too much focus on grass and landscapes.
The press, and Denver Water’s PR, seemed cover grass, new sod and
landscape issues over and over. There
are industries that waste large amounts of water but there was no press
coverage of those industries. Theresa
stated that the July 1st trigger seemed to be too late in the
year. She realizes that DW
does look at projections but the July 1st date is confusing to
the public.
John Loughry replied that soil moisture, evaporation and other
information is given to those interested, including the press, but that
information is not covered in press reports on the July 1st projections. Roberta
asked what is being done currently
now to get the word out about the water situation.
The no watering between If
restrictions are not needed, Roberta and Theresa urged
staff to work on conservation measures such as 2 to 3 day a week watering
schedules, no watering between John
Loughry stated that DW has not regulated use in the past unless it was due
to a drought. It would be
difficult to regulate use when not in a drought, and difficult to justify
restriction to customers if there is sufficient water.
There needs to be a clear distinction between drought measures
(restrictions, surcharges, rebates) and conservation measures. Roberta
expressed her hope that staff, the
CAC, and information from the Customer Survey would all go to the Board
with a similar strong conservation message.
Roberta asked that the next two CAC meetings be spent on drought
and conservation issues so the CAC could be pro-active with suggestions to
the Board. CAC
Business
Selection of Vice Chair for 2004 was
tabled until the February meeting. The
CAC will hold its annual dinner on Next
Meeting The next regular meeting
of the Citizens' Advisory Committee will be held on |