Springs among state’s biggest water savers

An independent policy group has given Colorado Springs high marks for its strides in water conservation.

Springs’ single-family residential per capita water use decreased 32 percent since 2000, according to a report released this week from Western Resource Advocates.

The report names the Springs, along with Denver, Aurora and Boulder as the biggest conservers in the state.

While local water use is average for a city of Colorado Springs’ size, single-family residential use is among the lowest along the Front Range, something the report attributes to a solid conservation program.

Colorado Springs Utilities, which provided water to more than 415,000 people last year, has instituted a number of business and residential conservation incentives in recent years.

The report says that CSU’s water conservation program has an annual budget of about $400,000, or 0.22 percent of the total water service budget, and that CSU spends $1 per customer on conservation.

Since 2000, CSU has spent more than $6 million on demand-side management programs, including conservation programs, labor, and communications.