ALBUQUERQUE BERNALILLO COUNTY
WATER UTILITY AUTHORITY
BILL NO. R-15-11
RESOLUTION
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Amending the Water Conservation Rebate Program.
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WHEREAS, the Water Authority has adopted a water conservation goal of 135 gallons per capita per day by 2024; and
WHEREAS, the Water Authority service area achieved a gallons per capita per day use of 134 in 2014; and
WHEREAS, Water Authority sponsored water conservation rebate programs have saved over 200 billion gallons of water since 1995 and are a proven method for reducing water use throughout the Water Authority's service area; and
WHEREAS, the Water Authority approved in May 2006 a one percent rate increase to support water resources programs including additional funding for water conservation rebates and incentives; and
WHEREAS, the number of toilet rebate applications is declining as the majority of properties in the service area have already been retrofitted with low-flow or high-efficiency toilets; and
WHEREAS, the xeriscape rebate program has provided rebates for removal of over 200,000 square feet of turf; and
WHEREAS, when turf is removed sometimes the remaining trees do not receive adequate irrigation; and
WHEREAS, many of the older trees in our service area are not drought-tolerant varieties and replacing them with drought-tolerant species when they die will make the community more resilient to fluctuations in water supply; and
WHEREAS, urban trees help reduce heat, increase cooling through water evaporation, remove carbon and air pollution and cut energy use; and
WHEREAS, the Urban Ecosystem Analysis Report found that the Albuquerque lost 43 acres or 7 percent of its tree canopy between 1990 and 2008; and
WHEREAS, drought-tolerant trees are covered by the Water Authority's xeriscape program but that program is only available to customers who are removing turf; and
WHEREAS, there is a need to...
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