WATERWORKS
As the Waldo Canyon Fire made abundantly clear, we need
to think about water in the arid high desert in which we live. To the question
“How much water consumption do we have in CS?,” Mark Murphy, of CSU’s Public
Affairs Division, responded: “Our average annual consumption in recent years
has been about 27 billion gallons/83,000 acre-feet.”
Gary Bostrom, who is the Chief Water Services Officer at
CSU, refused to answer any questions regarding water consumption or
conservation. It took two weeks to move from one department to the other to get
simple answers to simple questions. Is this the most efficient manner to
respond to public inquiries?
Perhaps CSU needs to justify its bloated Public Affairs
Division’s budget. How many employees does it take for Mr. Murphy to respond?
One is tempted to throw in a joke about screwing a light bulb, but perhaps this
would hit too close to home. Did CEO Forte or the big boss, Mr. Hente, the
chairman of the CSU board, gave such orders to make sure no one knows what is
done at CSU. Circling the Wagons?
Apparently,
efficiency and transparency are not on their agenda. No, this is not picking on
anyone in particular, just pointing out a culture of waste that probably will
be shoved under the rug now that the big fire consumes all our attention. Isn’t
it petty to pick at CSU when CS is burning? On the contrary, it’s what should
be done.
Do we have enough reserves, long term contracts, or is
this an annual matter? According to CSU’s spokesperson, “We currently have about
two years of demand in storage, which we feel is adequate. We typically do not
lease water from other sources other than our yield from the Fryingpan-Arkansas
Project, which is an annual purchase; all our water is yield from the many
water rights the city owns. We have on occasion purchased water from other
providers, but those have been on a spot market basis and not long-term
arrangements.”
How much does CSU charge (in the aggregate) for water,
and how much does it pay for it? Answer: “As a not-for-profit, municipal
utility, our goal is to recover only the cost of service and keep rates as low
as possible.” But what are the numbers? Why bother asking if CSU refuses to
answer those who are actually paying? It didn’t seem like a tricky question.
Perhaps as users we should just trust CSU. Really?
What conservation efforts have you undertaken lately? A
lengthy answer here: “State drought conditions have increased customer
awareness for the value of water.
Additionally, we offer a number of free resources - from xeriscape
classes to online conservation tools. Our customers may also qualify for
money-saving rebates for installing or upgrading irrigation equipment and
efficient appliances (http://www.csu.org/residential/water/Pages/waterefficiency.aspx).
Of note, we continue to help the Colorado Springs Parks,
Recreation and Cultural Services Department modernize its irrigation systems
and update [its] water efficiency practices for sustainable water savings. Our
staff members have conducted water audits, made landscape changes and system
upgrades, such as installing more efficient sprinkler heads, rain sensors and
irrigation controllers to help save water while benefiting our community. These
improvements, along with a water conservation rate applied to more than 130
parks, ha[ve] resulted in healthier turf and a decrease in parks water use by
nearly 20 percent.
Our customers continue to conserve. The combination of
ongoing customer information, rebates, and tiered water pricing based on use
has resulted in a 21.5 percent decrease in water use per person compared to
2001.”
And, finally, is there a correlation between rate
increase and decrease in consumption? What's the tipping point? The answer: “There
is a price for essential indoor use, a moderate price for typical outdoor use
and a higher price for excess use. Calculations are based on monthly use. One cubic foot (CF) equals 7.48 gallons. Up
to 999 CF 2.51 cents/CF; 1,000 to 2,499 CF 4.68 cents/CF; More than 2,500 CF 6.91
cents/CF. Average monthly water use is 1,100 cubic feet (8,228 gallons),
resulting in a bill of $46.08. This is equal to about six-tenths of a cent per
gallon.” No answer to the question at hand.
This trend is in line with an article titled “Residential
water use trends in North America” (2011) that concludes: “when controlling for
weather and other variables, the evident decline in residential use was
pervasive among the national and regional components of the study. A household
in the 2008 billing year used 11,678 gallons less water annually than an
identical household di in 1978.”
Except for PR silliness, the Water Department is on board
with the rest of the country. It therefore seems reasonable to follow Denver’s
lead and keep it, while selling the rest of CSU.
Raphael
Sassower is professor of philosophy at UCCS. He can be reached at rsassower@gmail.com See
previous articles at sassower.blogspot.com
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