In Douglas County – where the population has grown 28% since 2010 – the demand for water and, more importantly, smart water solutions is undeniable. The county itself has set a standard for water use of 0.75 acre feet (approximately 244,500 gallons of water) per home, per year based on non-renewable groundwater supplies. While that establishes a mandatory goal for developers to meet, we should strive to do better.

One Douglas County community is proving the ability to bring that number down to 0.20 acre feet, or just 65,200 gallons of water used per household, per year. And it is already being proven to be attainable at the Sterling Ranch Master Planned Community in Littleton, a community that will eventually have more than 12,000 homes on 3,400 acres. This community is setting what should become new standards across the Front Range and throughout the region for efficient and effective water use. When the community completes its full closed loop renewable water system over the next few years, that number can be cut almost in half to around .12 acre feet per home.

The closed loop system is based on three critical components: demand management, rainwater harvesting and return flows. These are all important mechanisms that are helping to cut water use at a staggering rate.

Effective demand management reduces the reliance on water from day one as it is planned into the community and the homes, redefining the definition of water needs and sets the bar for how water can be used more effectively. This reduces the need to implement less effective conservation measures that restrict water usage and penalize users for using water for a short period of time. When conservation measures are lifted users can go back to using more water than is needed.

Water Demand Management includes water-monitoring technology, which exists for homeowners to accurately monitor water usage so that water can be managed and optimized. For example, dual-water meter systems differentiate between indoor and outdoor water consumption; smart infrastructure helps to identify possible leaks, and smart irrigation systems prevent wasteful and inefficient water use.

Demand management also utilizes smart landscapes. Using information developed with the Denver Botanic Gardens and working with landscape architects provides developers with the opportunity to install drought-resistant pallets of vegetation that will survive and look good throughout the changing seasons. Cutting thirsty plants and grass from plans long before they are installed provides homeowners with landscapes that are very attractive and water wise. For example, by working with Denver Botanic Gardens, a world expert in steppe climate plants that do not require large amounts of water and are drought resistant, Sterling Ranch was able to provide beautifully authentic and natural landscapes that are acclimated to Colorado.

Demand management means establishing water budgets, as well. Water budgets have been established for both indoor and outdoor usage based on the home size and number of fixtures for indoor and smart landscaping design for outdoor. Empowering each homeowner to use the appropriate amount of water and to be mindful of potential wasteful uses and giving them real time information so they can be in charge and manage their water usage has worked very well.

The first and only rainwater harvesting effort in Colorado – the Sterling Ranch Rainwater Harvesting Pilot Project – administered by the CWCB and the Division of Water Resources, has been established. Through this pilot, the water provider has quantified the amount of water that can be harvested legally without injuring downstream water rights holders. Rainwater harvesting is a sustainable water management practice that could be incorporated into new development across Colorado. 

Rounding out a full closed loop system is reuse, or return flows. In Colorado certain water supplies can be used and reused to extinction – effectively stretching your water supply portfolio. Reuse can be used for development several different ways to include non-potable irrigation or by capturing your return flows bringing them back into your system for treatment and use. In Sterling Ranch there are metered flows on indoor use as well as flow monitors throughout the collection system – allowing for accurate quantification of water that can be recaptured and brought back in for treatment and reuse.

By implementing an effective and efficient closed loop system, more Colorado communities can do their part to reduce water consumption, one household at a time.

Andrea Cole is general manager of the Dominion Water & Sanitation District in Greenwood Village.