THROUGH UTILITY-BASED INCENTIVE PROGRAMS Salt River, Arizona. Photo - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

ACHIEVING ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS THROUGH UTILITY-BASED INCENTIVE PROGRAMS Salt River, Arizona. Photo Credit: San Pedro River, Arizona. Photo Brittany Choate Credit: The Nature Conservancy 1

Rushing Rivers Program: Conservation Savings for Instream Flow Water Resources Research Center Webinar – May 10, 2012 Drew Beckwith, Water Policy Manager dbeckwith@westernresources.org (720) 763-3726

RRP Schematic WTP Mountain View WWTP 5

RRP Initial Screen SCREENING CRITERION WEIGHT Strength of community connection to the stream 20% Opportunity for saved water to stay in the stream for a 20% meaningful distance Strength of physical relationship between municipal 10% diversion and target stream reach Extent to which conservation savings could result in 15% meaningful streamflow enhancement Additional factors increasing community’s likelihood of 20% embracing program Additional factors increasing water utility’s likelihood of 10% embracing program Other factors increasing implementation ease 5% 6

RRP Ranking CRITERION COMMUNITY SCORE #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 Pagosa Springs 90% H H M H H H M H Breckenridge 85% H H M H M H H M Winter Park 73% H H L H H M M M Steamboat Spgs 70% H H M M H M M M Glenwood Spgs 60% M H M L M M H H Gunnison 58% H H L L L M H H Crested Butte 55% M M M L M H H M Aspen 55% H H M L M H L L Eagle 48% M M M L M M M H Telluride 35% H L L L M H L L 7

Pagosa Area WSD  80 mi 2 service area  ~2,000 AFY  ~7,000 taps  Majority residential  Significant 2 nd homes  San Juan River! 8

Bill Communication You saved 3,700 gallons this month by comparison to last year. Mountain View residents’ conservation efforts kept 10,000,000 gallons more water in the river this month. 9

PAWSD Bill (old) 10

PAWSD Bill (new?) Change in Use (gallons) 11

Outreach 12

Questions & Comments Consultant report available 1-page handout available Drew Beckwith dbeckwith@westernresources.org (720) 763-3726 13

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Santa Fe Watershed Management Project (Water is for… Collaboration)

Santa Fe’s Water Supply System Buckman Direct Diversion (2011) 285 Buckman Well Field McClure Res. Upper Santa Fe Watershed City Well Field Santa Fe Treated Effluent Canyon Nichols Res. Rd. Water Treatment Plant Wastewater 25 Treatment Plant

Santa Fe’s Water Supply System

Water Use 25,000 Historical Projected 20,000 Acre-Feet Year Conserved Water 15,000 Gap between Demand and Available Supply 10,000 Ground Water Santa Fe River 5,000 San Juan-Chama Water via the Buckman Direct Diversion 0 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045

Watershed Property Ownership

Cerro Grande Fire, May 2000

Watershed Stand Conditions Prior to Treatment • Dense ponderosa pine forests – Average 500 to 1,000 trees per acre, compared with 10-50 trees per acre historically in Southwest pine forests – Suppression of tree growth and herbaceous vegetation • Many small trees less than 16” in diameter • Few fire resistant large trees • Poor habitat

Watershed Fire History Study Credit: Ellis Margolis, 2009. University of Arizona Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research

Risk of Catastrophic Fire in Watershed • Costs to fight fire • Impact to water supply – Damage to infrastructure – Loss and replacement of source Pacheco Fire, June-July 2011 $9-10 million • Impact to local economy – Tourism is 40% of economy – Peak months June-August Las Conchas Fire, June-Aug. 2011 – P.A. $320 million/yr $40 million

Initial Forest Treatment Work • NEPA initiated in fall of 2000 • September 2001, EIS completed • Treat up to $7,270 acres in non-wilderness • $7 million federal funds • Project monitoring, Technical Advisory Group

Watershed Treatment 2002-2011 • Total of 5,500 acres treated in ponderosa pine zone: • Hand Thinning and Mastication (chunking) • Pile burning • Broadcast burning • Re-broadcast burn in 2,000 acres

Now What? The Challenge: • Provide a framework for long-term maintenance work in treated areas (PP); • Treat areas in Wilderness that pose significant wildfire risk (MC), not included in 2001 EIS • Long-term monitoring • Education and Outreach • Long-term financial model

USFS Collaborative Forestry Restoration Program (CFRP) • Partners: – City of Santa Fe Water Division and Fire Department – USFS Espanola District – Santa Fe Watershed Association – The Nature Conservancy

The Product : Santa Fe Municipal Watershed Management Plan • Comprehensive 20-yr plan with innovative payment for ecosystem services financial model

• Water Management : Monitor and analyze watery quantity & quality, stream habitat assessment and improvement, infrastructure upgrades; • Education and Outreach : Educational watershed classes for 5 th graders, guided hikes for adults, educational publications, utility bill stuffers, video production, public meetings and public opinion survey; • Financial Management : City cost share forest work with USFS through collection agreement, and payment for ecosystem services; • Vegetation Management : Maintenance burning every 5-7 years in ponderosa pine areas already treated, NEPA Environmental Assessment, and fuels reduction work in 4,000 acres of mixed conifer located in wilderness.

Payment for Ecosystem Services City Utility Bill • Water customers are the beneficiaries of a healthy watershed • Indirect valuation: ecosystem service = cost of watershed maintenance/monitoring ($200,000/yr) • Utility rate payer impact $6.50/yr (range $3.13 to $9.40)

Payment for Ecosystem Services cont. • Another rate increase? – Recent 48% increase for BDD, 4 yr phase-in • Not so fast… – Water Trust Board $1.3 mil. grant • Evaluation of project funding alternatives to PES – Rate increase – Bond – Absorb in existing Water Utility operating budget

PES Implementation • Existing rate increase will cover long-term project costs • What to call it? – “Water Source Protection Fund”

Final thoughts: collaboration requires • A lot of energy and trust • Everyone needs to leave some of their preconceptions at the door – not always easy • Early and frequent engagement in the process of developing a shared vision: makes people/groups feel valued (because they are) • Not all projects allow for necessary time to gather a collective understanding of what needs to be done- if you need to rush, may be better to use more traditional methods of planning.

Conserve to Enhance (C2E): An Innovative Voluntary Mechanism How C2E Works 1. Water is conserved Water saved through (at homes & businesses) conservation efforts 2. Money saved through water conservation 3. Money donated to a C2E fund Donations support 4. Money used to environmental implement environmental enhancement enhancement projects Program development funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Current funding includes Walton Family 36 Foundation.

Tapping into Motivation • Why should I save water? • How do I save water? • How are these things connected? The environment can be a significant motivator that makes these connections. 37

Environmental Goals • Meaningful, new funding for local projects • Wide range of projects • Instream flows, green infrastructure, stream restoration – whatever a community is interested in Beaver Creek, AZ. Photo credit: Brittany Choate • But maintain a connection to water! 38

Setting Goals: The Tucson Example • Connect personal water savings to river enhancement • Raise awareness about community benefits of riparian & river systems • Provide additional water for riparian restoration • Increase local water conservation • Inspire community engagement in restoration projects

Tucson Environmental Enhancement Priorities • Located in Tucson • Existing project • Public visitation • Ecosystem Enhancement • Funding Source • Permits

Recipient Site Selection Process • Identified 15 local restoration projects • RFP to select recipient sites • 3 sites asked to make presentations to Board • 2 sites selected as C2E recipient sites • Narrowed down to one site due to feasibility of project completion & benefit 41 Atturbury Wash, Tucson, AZ (Candice Rupprecht)

Flexibility & Adaptability • Riparian Preservation & Restoration Listening Sessions, Summer 2011 – Large scale projects: $ & don’t need water – Small scale (neighborhood) projects: need $, expertise, maybe water • Tucson C2E expanding to include funding for neighborhood scale projects Tanque Verde Creek, Arizona. (Candice Rupprecht)

Expanding the Reach Tucson Water Checkbox program announcement, June 2011 43