Colorado WaterWise - Winter 2016

waterwise The official publication of Colorado WaterWise

The Voice of the Colorado Water Conservation Community

www.coloradowaterwise.org

In this issue...

What Works With Landscape ClassesWater Education page 4

Pg. 3 Colorado Water Water Savings in It! Live Like You Love Commercial Kitchens -

page 7

Pg. 9 Interview with Lessons from a Ray Tschillard

Multi-Family Retrofit Program - page 10

Pg. 13 Water Efficiency Workshop ColoradoWaterWise.org

Pg. 14 Interview with Gary Klein

Winter 2016

s r o t i d e e h t From

Winter is the time when we reflect on the last year’s projects—what worked? What didn’t? How can I improve on a project? It is also the time to start planning for next year. This issue is bursting with ideas and projects to satisfy utilities’ many different customer classes. These practical programs offer invitations and solutions for homeowners, restaurants, and multifamily property managers as well as the latest in plumbing technology. Read on to find out how to entice your customers with incentives and resources to help them be more efficient.

December wrapped up the year with a new venue and time for the 8th Annual Conservation Summit. This year’s Summit was held on the Metro State Campus in the historic St Cajetan’s Church. Prior surveys were used to develop a program; as a result Colorado WaterWise focused on education this year. The event started off with ideas to energize school and youth education programs while the afternoon was geared to adults. New tools and projects for 2017 in the Live Like You Love It campaign were revealed as well as several ongoing projects with college campuses and results of a national survey with the Commercial, Industrial and Institutional sector (ICI or CII). The day ended with breweries documenting their accomplishments on sustainability measures.

Finally, Colorado WaterWise would like to recognize and thank Brenda O’Brien for her many years of project management for the organization.

Her long-time history with Colorado WaterWise and relationship with the green industry have been invaluable to the Board. Please join us in saying goodbye and thank you for your service to further water conservation in Colorado.

Kim Frick Ruth Quade Leslie Martien Michael Thomas

Colorado WaterWise Ongoing Meetings

Colorado WaterWise Board Meetings: Second Thursday of each month, 10 a.m.-noon January 12

February 9

March 9

WaterWise is the official publication of Colorado WaterWise and is published four times a year (March, June, September, and December). Articles are due one month before the newsletter comes out.

Officers: Co-chairs: Alyssa Quinn-Platte Canyon & Ruth Quade-Greeley Co-secretaries: Nona Shipman-One World One Water & Lindsey Bashline-Loveland Utilities Co-treasurers: Amelia Nuding-Western Resource Advocates & Lyndsey LuciaNorthern Water Board Members: The officers above and Laura Wing-City of Thornton; Frank Kinder-Colorado Springs Utilities; Becky Fedak-Brendle Group, Leslie Martien-Aquacraft; Kate Larson- Center for ReSource Conservation; Rose Marie Clouse-City of Fountain; Diana Denwood-Aurora Water; Renee Davis-City of Fort Collins, Michael Thomas-Denver Water Newsletter Committee: Editors, Kim Frick, Leslie Martien, Ruth Quade & Michael Thomas Design: Natalie Stevens Advertising Sales: Ruth Quade, 970-3509874, ruth.quade@greeleygov.com To submit a story topic, email Kim Frick at kim.frick@cityofloveland.org WaterWise articles may be reproduced in other publications with credit given to the author and Colorado WaterWise.

Any advertisement of or reference to a product or service is not intended as an endorsement. This newsletter is intended to spark dialogue about various issues concerning water conservation in Colorado. The viewpoints of the authors are not necessarily those of Colorado WaterWise.

ColoradoWaterWise.org

LoveColoradoWater.org

WaterWise

3

Winter 2016 Winter 2016

WHAT WORKS WITH WATER WISE LANDSCAPE CLASSES

By Molly Morris, Colorado Springs Utilities With almost half of the annual household water use in Colorado going to the landscape, and fence-to-fence grass still a popular choice, utilities have found that customer education is essential to responsible outdoor water use. Many Colorado water utilities offer a variety of customer education to help their customers understand ways to use water wisely. Colorado Springs Utilities offers multiple tools to educate our customers about wise water use and why that’s important to our water future in Colorado.

Classes offer a great way to offer professional water smart landscape advice and to provide direct answers to our customers’ yard problems. The opportunity to make a personal connection with customers while offering objective suggestions oftentimes results in an improved relationship with their water provider. Here are the things that make our classes a success: Offer Popular Class Topics We have core classes that our staff teach every year. Some of these are less popular, but really important, like irrigation classes (Master Your Sprinklers: Tips from a Pro) and others, such as our design classes (Landscape Design: Planning before Planting) are better attended. We have found that our customers will eagerly attend a design class, and subsequently learn that they aren’t scheduling their irrigation system correctly and will show up for the irrigation class.

Picking a good mix of fun and educational topics helps make the series more enticing and less of a chore.

Show Lots of Local Examples This one takes a lot of time and creativity, but is worth the payback with customers who may not have the vision of what xeriscape can look like. It is helpful to have plenty of examples ranging from high end, professionally installed landscapes to lower budget DIY projects. We find that these local examples show our customers what the possibilities of xeriscape are—not just polk-adot plants in mulch or rock and cactus-- and offers inspiration from their own community, rather than a Google image search. Photos and videos of common irrigation problems are also a fun and eye-opening addition.

WaterWise

4

Winter 2016 Winter 2016

Don’t Forget Budget and Maintenance Our most common customer concerns related to the landscape are: budget, maintenance and lastly, water conservation (usually because of high bills). As a water conservation professional, I would rather have water first on the list, but for many of our customers, it is their time and money that take priority. We expect xeriscape classes to concentrate on water wise principles, but equally important are budget and maintenance. Most of our class attendees are do-it-yourselfers looking for a reasonably priced, low maintenance yard they can install themselves.

Keeping the solution within reach, or letting them know when to hire out can be really helpful to make their project a success. As maintenance changes from a turf covered landscape to one with varied plant material, we find that our customers really appreciate understanding the change in maintenance and recommendations that keep maintenance reasonable.

Capturing an Audience If there is not a requirement to attend classes from the water provider then scheduling, length of classes and target marketing is important for attracting an audience. We have found 1-1 ½ hour long classes and workshops are best and offering each class on both a weekday evening and weekend morning works well for most schedules. Our classes start in March and run through mid-June; if we schedule any later, folks are in vacation mode and attendance drops. We market our class schedule in our customer’s monthly bill mailer, but have traditionally seen higher turnout from the baby boomers than the millennials. We’re looking for more creative ways to reach the younger age groups that are more web based, either with marketing on social media or hosting class content online. We are beginning to capture our foundational classes digitally for viewing online, and also targeting a younger group with trending class topics, such as vegetables and container gardening, and guest teachers who may bring in a younger crowd.

Each year we take a look at what’s working and what’s not and make the changes that keep our audience engaged and educated. While the learning curve can be somewhat steep for growing a successful water wise landscape in Colorado, we aim to offer our customers as much knowledge and guidance as possible to “conserve, care and commit” and see success in their own yards.

WaterWise

5

Winter 20162016 Winter

TOTO CORP’S LUNCH’ N LEARN YIELDS INSIGHT INTO LATEST PLUMBING TECHNOLOGY AT RAMPART SUPPLY

By Frank Kinder, Colorado Springs Utilities Toto Corp’s October 13 Lunch’ n Learn yields insight into latest plumbing technology at Rampart Supply By Frank Kinder, Colorado Springs Utilities Toto President of the Americas, Bill Strang presented a lively and informative session on the latest in plumbing efficiency, technology, and societal benefits at our October 13th Lunch’ n Learn. Attendees included utility representatives, non-profits, university facilities staff, consultants, plumbing suppliers, home builders, service organizations, research organizations, engineers, HOA board members, water districts, and even John Stulp, the Special Policy Advisor to the Governor for Water and Chairman of the IBCC at State of Colorado. Clearly, plumbing efficiency remains and will be an ever important focus area that crosses many disciplines and offers much opportunity for the future of water use in Colorado.

Mr. Strang demonstrated Toto’s latest engineering solutions to create high functioning fixtures that manage hygiene, appearance, and flushing performance, using very low levels of water. Some of these technologies include commodes with special coatings that resist coloration through catalytic compounds which degrade waste through the application of their own UV treatments. Toto’s patented fluid dynamics maximize the water available providing high satisfaction and performance which are so crucial the balance of efficiency. People were surprised how high-tech toilets can be. The significant innovations Toto has created help them to help conservation solutions be successful, and fun!

Mr. Strang demonstrated how transparency in manufacturing improves products and company performance through upholding sustainable practices. Toto employs Sustainable Mind’s Environmental Product Declaration, which helps ensure upstream and downstream processes are less impactful and address systemic effects of manufacturing. These same measures help green building to have a holistic approach, and help progress building certification programs such as USGBC’s LEED. These programs demonstrate Toto’s leadership and commitment to lifecycle assessment, and can be seen in Bill’s explanation in this video.

Bill is passionate about how these same technologies applied to efficiency improve the livelihoods of all people and places involved in their company. They utilize both a Return on Investment, and Return on Environment. Learn more here.

We ended our presentation with a tour of Rampart’s showroom featuring working Toto commodes and showerheads. Attendees enjoyed the interpersonal communications and learning experience. This event concluded our 2016 Lunch’ n Learns focusing on technology and conservation. We appreciate this year’s speakers, hosts, supporters and attendees. Technology is a major focus of efficiency and conservation and promises much improvement over existing systems and behaviors. Additional Lunch’ n Learns may be offered in 2017, so look for information on those in future newsletters and emails. Thanks again to Toto and Rampart Supply.

WaterWise

6

Winter 2016 Winter 2016

WATER SAVINGS IN COMMERCIAL KITCHENS: REVIEW OF THEMES FROM WATERSMART INNOVATIONS 2016

By Michael Thomas, Denver Water Each year water conservation professionals from across the country descend into Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the WaterSmart Innovations conference. Conferences offer an opportunity to network, compare programs, see the latest technological advances, and to learn about new ways to achieve greater water efficiency in their communities. Conferences, including this one, often have specific themes and tracks such as education or water reuse. In addition, unintentional trends emerge based on the research and experiences of the presenters. One such trend at WaterSmart was on commercial kitchens and restaurants. Multiple utilities (Denver Water included) shared experiences working with this industry. Research and professional organizations also shared their investigation of this important commercial industry.

One of the first presentations on restaurants was from the Alliance for Water Efficiency. The Alliance presented details from their soon to be released guide for Restaurant Water Efficiency and Best Practices Guide. The tool’s objective is to compliment the EPA and other guides on the industry. However, the guide is targeted towards the industry itself (as opposed to utilities). The Alliance also discussed some of their findings and perceptions of the industry. For example: • The Alliance emphasized the restaurant industry is a relationship driven one. If utilities and conservation professionals want to get things accomplished with this group it is important to spend time with industry leaders and groups.

• If you plan on making recommendations make sure you have numbers (savings for water and financials) ready to go. It is unlikely a busy restaurant will request follow up meetings. If you have a goal make sure it is evident and that you have a plan to accomplish it.

• Many restaurants rent dishwashers and other equipment (may limit effectiveness of incentives) • If a restaurant or coffee house has dipper wells strongly encourage them to replace them. Dipper wells can use 167 gallons a day whereas alternative equipment uses 9.6 gallons per day. Return on investment is less than a year.

• Pre rinse spray valves are also a very quick return on investment for water savings.

WaterWise

7

Winter 2016 Winter 2016

In addition to industry guides Denver Water and other presented on efforts to benchmark and analyze restaurant customer’s water use. Denver Water shared our experiences in a pilot project with a local restaurant chain. We analyzed 6 restaurants and helped estimate end uses of water in the sample. Some of the major findings of this pilot were: • End uses of water in this chain differed from that of the EPA’s estimate. Cleaning of the restaurant and equipment were a much bigger use of water compared to the EPA’s estimate.

• Leak detection and remediation is still a major opportunity. It accounted for 10 percent of use in the one restaurant a leak was found.

• For most restaurants we could see a daily pattern emerge in the restaurants use. The one with a less regular patterns water use was higher and managed less efficiently. Suggesting having a standard set of operating procedures and training has positive impacts on water use as well.

• Benchmarking the industry will be difficult. Restaurant square footage is a poor indicator of water use intensity. Furthermore, customers were hesitant to release sales data. Some of the researchers at the conference suggested that benchmarking is possible within a chain but that even burger oriented fast food operation have significantly different cooking methods and water use.

One last area worth noting were the experiences of restaurants and utilities during the most recent drought. California had conservation mandates for two commercial industries: hospitality and restaurants. Restaurants were required to only serve water upon request. A presentation by the Sweetwater Authority (south of San Diego) had some recommendations from their outreach with the industry during the drought.

• The Authority targeted 200 restaurants in their service area with direct mailing marketing, they passed out paper table tents with drought messaging, and performed in person visits.

• They found about 76 percent of restaurants followed the mandate set by the state.

• The Authority also did a post drought analysis that found water use dropped about 4 percent.

Although doing this outreach was good for building relationships with the industry it was not necessarily a major water saving program.

• The Authority found that the effect of the mandate was limited because many restaurants had dishwashing systems that were efficient and the water use assumption that drove the mandate (about how much it takes to clean a single glass) did not apply.

• In candid conversations multiple utility members from California suggested the intent of the mandate was good but that other actions are necessary to achieve savings. Some also suggested that singling out an industry in this way may have may have harmed the relationship (and partnership opportunity) between water departments and restaurants.

For more information on restaurant conservation opportunities (as well as many other resources) go to the resources section of Colorado WaterWise’s website. There are links to various tool kits, guides, and government agencies who work in water conservation.

WaterWise

8

Winter 2016 Winter 2016

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE OF LOW INCOME PROGRAMS AT DENVER WATER

By Brandi Honeycutt, Denver Water

Denver Water manages a program targeted towards low income customers to improve water efficiency and help to lower water bills. The process involves directly installing high efficiency toilets, showerheads and faucet aerators into single and multifamily homes. In addition, customers are educated on water conservation. Mile High Youth Corps, a local non-profit organization conducts the toilet installations and audits for Denver Water and the costs of each service are listed below.

Toilet Installation Single Family Audit Multi-Family Audit

$196 $38 $27

Denver Water partners with the Colorado Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to target low income customers that participate in their Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP). LEAP participants receive a brochure in the mail letting them know that they may be eligible for an audit and toilet retrofit.

Year 2015 2014 2013

Total Single Family Audits 1,106 1,373 1,665

Total Multifamily Audits 251 1,663 1,199

Total Toilet Installations 1,708 2,256 1,894

Gallons Saved per Year 34,762,500 61,785,600 55,715,200

Acre Feet of Water Saved 107 190 171

Denver Water provides the Niagara Stealth toilet to these customers at a cost of about $125 per toilet (making each installation approximately $321 for Denver Water). The cost of operating the low income program is higher than other incentive programs such as rebates. However, low income customers are less likely to provide the funds up front to purchase a new toilet and wait to receive a rebate. The program results in additional water savings that may not have otherwise been realized. Also, the program lowers water bills for low income customers which helps to increase their ability to pay their water bill on time.

Program Going Forward Denver Water has been conducting the low income program by targeting customers via the LEAP program participant list for nearly ten years. As a result, the number of LEAP program participants that are still eligible for the program is shrinking due to the high number of audits and installations conducted over the years. The income eligibly for LEAP is 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Other state programs have less stringent income eligibility thresholds of up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level. Denver Water is exploring the possibility of partnering with other state agencies with these less stringent income eligibly requirements to target low income customers may generate more leads for toilet installations and audits and lead to more water efficiency.

Denver Water is exploring other ideas as well. We are conducting an analysis of low income single family homes to determine if it would be worthwhile to add outdoor sprinkler nozzle retrofits to the program. Additionally, it may be valuable to directly install new clothes washers in low income housing as well. Denver Water has not decided if these additional measures will be implemented, however we will solicit a RFP in 2017 to reflect and provide an opportunity for programmatic changes.

WaterWise

9

Winter 20162016 Winter

JUST BECAUSE YOU BUILD IT DOESN’T MEAN THEY WILL COME: LESSONS FROM A LARGE SCALE MULTI-FAMILY RETROFIT PROGRAM

By Deb Finnerty, Denver Water Despite having a robust rebate program, Denver Water found attracting larger multi-family properties to take advantage of them was difficult. In fact, only 1 percent of rebates in the last year were from multi-family customers. As a result, the WaterSense Challenge Program was created in 2012. Denver Water identifies large multi-family customers with high indoor water use resulting from inefficient plumbing fixtures. By directly reaching out to these customers, we have helped bridge that gap for motivation for multi-family properties by providing EPA WaterSense labeled ultra-high efficiency toilets, showerheads, and aerators for them.

Although successful, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. The first program challenge came with getting customers to sign up. We created promotional flyers with testimonials from other properties that had the conversion. To overcome resistance to the 0.8 gal flush, we researched and collected drain lines studies and user satisfaction reports and provided them to customers. Last but not, least, a demo toilet was provided so customers could gauge toilet operation for themselves. Continuous follow up via phone calls, emails and visits to the properties were key in obtaining signed contracts. A second challenge came with installation. Customers had a difficult time finding a contractor to provide installation at a reasonable cost or agreeing to provide valuable staff time to install the fixtures.

The largest challenge came with delivery of the toilet fixtures to the customers. Packing slips were rarely submitted to Denver Water, which were crucial in getting vendor invoices paid. The decision was then made for Denver Water personnel to be at the delivery along with customer during the 3-hour delivery window to check for breakage, shortages and to get that important packing slip. However, a further complication arose when the 3-hour delivery window was frequently not adhered to by the carrier. This resulted in a huge waste of time for Denver Water and HOA members who took time away from their job to be present for the delivery.

In 2016, bids were sent for installation of the fixtures. A third party now receives deliveries and installs the fixtures. The program is much easier to sell to the customer now and has resulted in consistent, quality installation.

Although it is more expensive than the previous method, it still falls well below our goal of 1 acre foot of savings per $6,000.

To date, over 7,500 residential units are now more water efficient, with reductions ranging from 30 to 55%. Denver Water has benefited from a 520 acre-feet water savings as a result of this program, reducing demand for new water resources. In addition, we are better serving our larger multi-family customers.

The next step in working with the customer is communicating efficiency to them. Over time we anticipate the largest wasters will be fewer and it will be important to communicate a per resident efficiency benchmark to all multi-family customers. At the moment we are gathering the necessary data and analyzing the programmatic needs for that next step. Even with these major retrofit projects some properties were not what Denver Water would consider efficient on a per person basis (somewhere between 40 to 60 gallons per person per day). Issues such as leaks, inefficient use, and high occupancy are all things we plan on looking into. However, this program has WaterWise

10

Winter 2016 Winter 2016

interview

A Spotlight on

BRIAN DONAHUE WW: Tell us a little about yourself.

I was born and raised in New Jersey where we spent many summers down the shore. My appreciation for the outdoors and more particularly mountain landscapes brought me to study Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. At CU I participated in a work-study program that introduced me to water quality and ultimately an opportunity to work and live in this beautiful environment.

WW: How did you get started in the water conservation business?

After many years in water quality, I accepted a position with the City of Westminster’s Public Works and Utilities Department as Project Specialist. This role allows me to participate in many facets of water resources and planning, including Conservation. Our unique job is to balance conservation efforts with the need to generate water and wastewater revenue to sustain our Utility and support Capital Improvement Projects.

WW: Regarding water conservation, what do you feel are the biggest challenges facing Colorado?

Our biggest challenge facing Colorado is bridging the gap between supply and future demand. As a City, and as we approach build out, we realize the need to plan, design, and implement programs and strategies to ensure water quality and supply. Our comprehensive land use plan has identified a particular water gap that we need to solve, along with the needs of developers changing, areas of re-development. Opportunities may arise to have transit oriented development.

WaterWise

11

Winter 2016 Winter 2016

Interview with Brian Donahue “As a rookie in water conservation, I look forward to meeting others who face similar challenges and finding strategic ways to identify solutions through collaboration.”

WW: What regulatory measures do you think will have the biggest impact on water conservation in Colorado?

Fixtures, fixtures, fixtures. I have learned the tremendous impact, thanks to efforts by conservation professionals, efficient water fixture technologies have had on water conservation and real savings. Recent legislation passed in Colorado supports this initiative. With that said, our outreach and education in this regard with our customers, may be our best method to impact water conservation in Colorado.

WW: What technologies do you think will have the biggest impact on water conservation in Colorado?

We are in the process of evaluating different options for replacing our existing meters with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). We are hoping that the frequent, real time data that is provided by AMI will help better evaluate our customers’ use patterns. This data could also be used to determine creative solutions for conservation. During this process, we were introduced to the customer web and mobile platforms that provide two-way communication, real time usage patterns, and other conservation tools.

WW: What has given you the most satisfaction during your career?

Talking and educating customers at our outreach meetings and festivals. I’m always humbled at how fascinated people are to gain insight into what we do as professionals and how we impact their lives by providing high quality water and wastewater services.

WW: Beyond work, what other interests do you have? Passions, goals, missions?

Some of my interests are books, hiking, skiing, and music. Since we have off on Fridays, my current goal is to get into the mountains every Friday for a hike in Boulder, followed by happy hour!

WW: Any last thoughts you’d like to share with our readers?

As a rookie in water conservation, I look forward to meeting others who face similar challenges and finding strategic ways to identify solutions through collaboration.

WaterWise

12

Winter 2016 Winter 2016

MAHONIA REPENS A ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIVE

By Leslie Martien, Aquacraft Many of us select the plants in our gardens to provide nectar for bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds from spring through the fall but few of us plant our gardens with the thought of providing winter food. And given the recent long stretch of unseasonably warm weather it’s easy to forget that birds and small animals often struggle to find enough food with the onset of winter.

Mahonia repens, also known as Oregon Grape or grape holly, is a low-growing, subshrub that produces an abundance of edible blue berries. The small fruit sweetens and becomes edible after a couple of frosts in the fall. Prior to ripening the berries are quite sour, which combined with the plant’s dense, prickly leaves, means it is rarely browsed by deer or rabbits and its dense growth is excellent at blocking weeds.

Mahonia grows best in shade and makes a long-lived groundcover when planted under large trees that can also provide some protection from heat and drying wind. The evergreen plant has bluish-green leaves, which turn a bronzy-red in the fall. The leaves are scalloped and resemble that of holly although the two plants are unrelated. In spring Mahonia produces clusters of yellow, bell-shaped flowers that are sweetly fragrant. Getting close enough to enjoy their fragrance requires a bit of effort however; the plant rarely exceeds a foot in height although it grows nearly three feet wide.

It is tolerant of a wide range soils and growing conditions and is hardy to 7,000 feet.

Mahonia is more of a garden workhorse than a showcase plant. However, with it’s many fine attributes, this Colorado native deserves a place in a your garden.

WaterWise

13

Winter 2016 Winter 2016

JOIN US AT THE POUDRE RIVER FORUM As the Poudre Flows — Forest to Plains 4th Annual Poudre River Forum February 3, 2017 Island Grove Event Center, Greeley For the fourth year running, the Poudre River Forum brings together people all along the Poudre to learn more about the river and to celebrate it. The annual forum is an action initiative of the Poudre Runs Through It Study/ Action Work Group (PRTI)—about 25 citizen experts representing a diversity of interests who study the Poudre River and formulate cooperative actions based on what they learn. Meeting since 2012, the group’s agricultural, urban, and environmental members continue to build strong relationships to enact their motto: “Let’s Make the Poudre River the World’s Best Example of a Healthy Working River.” Facilitated by the Colorado Water Institute at Colorado State University, PRTI acts to improve the health of the Poudre River while recognizing its value as a working river—meeting the demands of diverse users.

In February 2017, after three years of hosting the Forum at the Larimer County Fairgrounds, we are moving down the river to Greeley - and the Island Grove Events Center - to remind everyone that the Poudre River is important to the full span of those of us who enjoy its waters—from its headwaters all the way to the confluence with the South Platte. We will be making the connection between the health of upper watershed forests and the high quality and quantity of water our communities count on for agricultural produce, fishing and boating, water to drink from the tap (and as beer), and for trees and urban landscapes. We will also be exploring how three sectors – agriculture, urban and environment – understand and plan for variability and uncertainties.

We’re pleased to announce that our keynote speaker will be Brian Richter, Chief Scientist, Water Program of The Nature Conservancy (D.C.), and author of Chasing Water: A Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Stainability (2014).

You can access the written program and video footage from last year. Here are what past participants have reported: • The nice thing about the Poudre River Forum is that it always attracts a diverse crowd—educators, townspeople, researchers, environmentalists, water utility folks—and local farmers too!”

• “I like the opportunity to meet those who are equally passionate about the Poudre River, whether they are ‘like-minded’ or think about it differently from me.”

• “The Forum is about communication, coming together, a focus on resolution and the future of the Poudre and all entities who have an interest in it.”

We anticipate over 250 participants and 40 sponsors in 2017. If you are interested to sponsor or point us to contacts for support or participation, please contact us via e-mail. Registration is now open.

WaterWise

14

Winter 2016

WORK WITH COLORADO WATERWISE The Colorado WaterWise Board of Directors is seeking administrative support and project coordinator services in executing the goals and supporting the mission of Colorado WaterWise. The term of contract is February 1, 2017, December 31, 2017, and is renewable yearly upon agreement by both parties.

CWW’s strategic plan focuses and guides CWW in advancing water conservation in Colorado and in providing services and education for members. The administrative support and project coordinator services are needed to provide CWW consistent achievement of the mission, vision, and financial objectives.

Responses must include both administrative support and project management services. Services may be provided by one or more individuals.

The deadline for the RFQ is January 9, 2017. View complete the request for qualifications at the CWW website. Please submit any questions regarding the RFQ to Lindsey Bashline at Lindsey.Bashline@ cityofloveland.org.

WaterWise

15

Winter 2016