The City of Fort Collins is located in Colorado’s Northern Front Range 50 miles north of Denver. It rains an average of 16 inches per year with 237 sunny days. Like many Front Range Colorado communities, Fort Collins’ population is growing quickly. At the same time, the city experiences recurring droughts that are intensified by climate change in an area already short on water supplies. Fort Collins is in a designated “critical water supply shortage” area; Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Statewide Supply Initiative predicts a significant gap between water supplies and water demands along Colorado’s Front Range, starting in 2040 for the Northern region of the South Platte River Basin where Fort Collins is located. These challenges, and particularly a severe drought in 2002-2003, motivated Fort Collins to build intensive water conservation and efficiency programs. Fort Collins Utilities has implemented conservation programs for over four decades.
Utility Overview
Challenges
Solutions
Program costs and funding sources
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