City of Greeley, CO

Enhancing Water Efficiency Portfolio through Performance Analysis Our Approach Project Outcomes

Project Goal

WaterNowAlliance and Western Resource Advocates (WRA) partnered with the City of Greeley to enhance the City’s water efficiency program portfolio through performance analysis. The results are intended to help guide the City’s forthcoming Water Efficiency Plan update and inform its annual water conservation program budget and priorities.

Our Approach

The City of Greeley’s extensive water conservation programs have been successful at reducing the City’s potable water demand and keeping water rates affordable. These programs include free irrigation audits, direct installation of smart irrigation controllers, a water-budget based rate structure, and a cash-for-grass pilot program, among others. Greeley is now focusing on optimizing these programs through cost-benefit analysis and review of other important metrics such as socioeconomic status of participants, age and geographic distribution, and the value of each program to the City’s residents. WaterNow and WRA reviewed existing approaches to conducting surveys and to quantifying the impact of efficiency programs to support this analysis.

Outcomes

WaterNow and WRA combined qualitative and quantitative research to analyze Greeley’s existing water efficiency programs, by administering a customer survey; conducting an analysis on spatial trends in program participation; and analyzing water use change analysis for past program participants. These findings have helped Greeley determine efficiency programs to continue, aim to expand, and retire, and identified strategies to further enhance their outreach and communication around these programs, in the updates to the City’s Water Efficiency Plan.