Lower Residential Water Rights Requirements
Water & Power staff will be recommending lower residential water rights requirements on future developments, based on the results of a recent water usage study. The study looked at the actual indoor and outdoor water use of residential structures in Loveland built after the new low-flow plumbing code changes went into effect. The study analyzed water usage over a ten-year period from 2008 to 2017 on 120 single family detached dwelling water meters located in 15 subdivisions, 117 single family attached dwellings located in 13 subdivisions and 122 multi-family water meters covering 1,249 dwelling units located in 11 subdivision in Loveland.
Based on the results of this study, staff found that overall indoor water usage per dwelling has decreased, outdoor water usage per lot has decreased and single family detached dwellings on average use substantially more water for both indoor and outdoor use than other types of residential dwellings. Based on the results of this study, updating the residential water rights to be more in line with the observed water usage trends will be recommended to City Council.
S
taff presented the proposed lowered residential water rights requirements in June at a Building Outreach meeting and at recent Loveland Utilities Commission and Construction Advisory Board meetings. A presentation to City Council for first reading is scheduled for August 6th and 2nd reading is scheduled for August 20th.
If approved, lowered residential water rights will be in place by the end of summer or early fall of 2019. These changes will help to lower the cost of new residential developments. For more information on this issue contact;
Allison Bohling, Customer Relations Business Specialist, 970.962.3567 or allison.bohling@cityofloveland.org