City of Evans

The City of Evans is located in Colorado’s Northern Front Range and receives its drinking water from the South Platte River Basin. The City faces dual challenges of growing population and drought. Evans is home to more than 21,000 people and has seen a population growth rate of about 2% every year since 2010, which has put a strain on the City’s water supply and threatens to limit economic development opportunities. WaterNow Alliance and Western Resource Advocates supported the City’s design of the program that will provide income qualifying homeowners with indoor water efficiency audits and direct installation of water efficient fixtures including toilets, faucet aerators, and showerheads, along with energy efficient lightbulbs, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Utility & Location

City of Evans, Colorado

Project

Direct install program for income-qualified residents and indoor water efficiency audits

Impact

Once fully implemented, Evans’ program is expected to replace more than 60 high water use appliances and fixtures per year with efficient ones, and provide community members with 150 home water audit kits per year, saving around 90,000 gallons of water annually. The City also expects that participating residents’ water bills will be lower because of the new water efficient fixtures

Project Strategies

Ensure Evans’ low-income community members, including those non-English speaking customers, participate in the City’s water use efficiency and conservation programs by: (1) partnering with local schools, homeowners associations, the local immigration center, and other community groups to perform outreach and build trust between the City and the community it serves; (2) providing information in residents’ primary language; (3) training City staff and home visit technicians to engage with residents in ways that bridge cultural divides.