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- This is an annual metric and only reflects data through 2023. The reduction in 2023 is due mostly to a 123% increase in precipitation during the irrigation season in 2023 compared to the same season's average precipitation from 2018-2022.
- This measure reflects all billed residential water use (single-family, duplex, and multi-family rate codes). It does not, however, include any water used by commercial rate codes associated with residential properties (like irrigation accounts, club houses, pools, offices and other uses that typically have a commercial rate code). This metric is highly dependent on weather conditions’ impacts on residential irrigation water use.
- The AWWA National Water domestic per capita consumption benchmark from 2017 is about 61 gallons per person per day, which is notably lower than ours. This is likely due to certain areas in the US not needing to irrigate landscapes, whereas in the arid west, outdoor water use is much higher and contributes to greater per capita water consumption.
2022 Status: Although some additional water supplies were added to the Utilities portfolio in 2022, it was not significant enough to show a change in this metric. The Actual Demand in 2022 was less than 90% of the Target Firm Yield of Supplies (which is good).
- This metric illustrates how well the Utilities Water Resources Division maintains a reliable water supply for the Utilities water service area customers.
- The goal is to keep water supplies greater than the demands of the water service area customers.
- Factors that increase the firm yield of Utilities water supplies include:
- Acquiring additional water rights that can be used without water court action;
- Going through water court process to allow Utilities to use certain previously acquired water rights;
- Adding reservoir storage that allows for water to be stored during times of excess and used during times of shortage; and,
- Adding reservoir storage that can meet return flow requirements downstream in order to allow for increased use of water supplies at the water treatment plant.
- This metric is only updated annually in March.
In 2023, the City received 45 drinking water quality complaints, equating to a rate of 0.25 per 1,000 customers. This was a decrease of 3 complaints, or 6%, from 2022, and remains well under benchmark goals. Based on the 2017 Benchmarking Manual from the American Water Works Association, 23 other participating utilities had a median number of technical water complaints of 5.4 per 1,000 customer accounts. The “best” quartile rate observed by other participating utilities was 1.1 per 1,000. At 0.25 per 1,000, the City of Fort Collins was “better than the best.”
Analysis (as of February 2024)
- Currently, this is an annual metric only reflecting data through 2023 and is typically updated in March.
- This metric includes the estimate water savings from over 16 different Water Conservation programs with quantifiable savings. This does not reflect water savings from education, behavior change and other passive activities like building/land use codes or water supply requirements, which are more challenging to measure and estimate.
- 122 million gallons of water savings was estimated in 2023. This savings level reflects about 2% of overall treated water production in 2023 (excluding large contractual users) and is a 30% decrease in savings from 2022 (173 million gallons saved). This drop in water savings is due in part to a decrease in commercial program participation and certain savings calculations that are impacted by significantly less water use, which occurred in 2023 due to a 123% increase in precipitation during the irrigation months compared to prior years' average.