finalized the update of a 2015 state water plan to map the possible scenarios for the state’s future water supplies and suggest solutions and tools to deal with them. The state’s population is forecast to grow to about 7.5 million by 2050 from the current 5.8 million.
“This community was built on the idea of water demand management, not supply management,” Smethills said. “We started from the concept of let’s figure out how much water we need, what’s the demand and then go get that amount of water.” “The water you use indoors, we get back at the sewer plant. What you put outdoors is gone forever,” Smethills said to explain the price difference.
The fees, the Smethills said, should be based on actual, documented use. They believe that gives developers and homebuilders incentive to cut water use and helps hold down costs for homebuyers. “Every water utility should have the ability to make decisions based on its water source, its uses and age of its infrastructure,” Zucker said. “But having a regulatory body, I believe, would make levying tap fees far more predictable and fair.”
“A lot of water providers are not for profit, so the tap fee is really there to ensure growth pays its own way,” Stauffer said. “There does need to be some recognition that tap fees are essential for the continuation of services.” “De facto reuse is happening all the time. That’s when a community discharges to the river and that becomes the water that someone else is able to divert to their supply,” said Laura Belanger, a senior water resources engineer and policy adviser at Western Resource Advocates.
Like Aurora, Castle Rock uses treated wastewater to irrigate parks and golf courses and also recaptures discharged water and treats it to be used as drinking water.