Water Conservation Plan

How are we doing?

During the first half of 2021, City of Santa Fe’s Water Conservation Office began an ongoing partnership with the Santa Fe County Water Utility to develop resources to help city and county customers use water more efficiently.

Additionally, two neighborhood water conservation pilot projects are currently underway in Santa Fe, one that uses a top-down approach to a large neighborhood and another that uses a roots-up approach to address a specific location. Both the Santa Fe 25-Year Sustainability Plan and the public input collected during the past few years of work in the Water Conservation Office have emphasized the importance and potential of neighborhood scale water conservation efforts.

2021 Mid-Year Report

Please view our 2021 Mid-Year Report to see the progress we're making on our 5-Year Water Conservation Plan (2020).

A lot of progress was made on this goal. We've really expanded our drought messaging in partnership with the County and have developed an education resource booklet that we will pilot summer 2021. This. effort will incorporate many of our Water Passport Education Program principles, along with adult messaging on City programs and initiatives.

Many adult outreach goals were met through the Next Generation Water Summit with the theme of Drought, Growth and Social Inequity. These were topics the community wanted to learn more about, and many departments were being asked questions related to these topics. A local expert panel was created to address the public's concerns and to answer any questions.

We have also had three in-person events to provide resources to the public on outdoor strategies to use water most efficiently while considering other environmental implications like loss of trees and pollinator habitats. We have also expanded our own water conservation demonstration garden to showcase these plantings, as well as a new neighborhood raingarden pilot project that showcases these different principles as well.

Our education goals for the upcoming school year will be adjusted once the school year is re-established with COVID practices that direct our efforts in the public schools. Internally, we worked across departments to try to address questions about drought and create consistent messaging on water related topics that connected all departments.

A lot of progress has also been made on this goal. The Next Generation Water Summit (NGWS) allowed us to have close discussions with the EPA WaterSense and Alliance for Water Efficiency programs to discuss national projects focusing on social inequity. We are beginning to gather information on related programming as well as program administration.

We currently have a partnership with the SFCC to assist us with water auditing projects and working toward establishing another potential partnership for low income plumbing and fixture assistance programs. We continue to use City technology to help us accomplish our customer service goals including EyeOnWater and the Survey 123 tool and have identified opportunities to partner with ongoing water division projects to expand the effectiveness of new technologies.

Our rebate program has maxed out all funding this FY. One of our rebates was for an internal retrofit project on 13 city buildings resulting in a water savings of over 6 acre-feet.

There was a large focus on leaks in spring 2021. We've greatly boosted drought, enforcement and water use restrictions across all platforms including NextDoor, Facebook, Instagram, our Save Water Santa Fe website, city social media outlets and our weekly radio show. Our continuous flow program has continued and leak detection is prioritized in all of our pilot projects.

The Water Conservation Office has done well working with other departments/ organizations on joint water conservation programs, the two largest campaigns of which are the Bees, Trees and Water campaign and the TreeSmart Santa Fe initiative. Additionally, staff are also involved in other multi-departmental sustainability work and in collaborative city efforts to improve outreach and messaging.

The Water Conservation Office is a small office and partnerships leverage the work of the small group by collaboration with larger projects. The WCO has many partners that we work closely with. Some of these organizations include: Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce, Santa Fe Watershed Association, Santa Fe County Master Gardeners, Randall Davey Audubon Center, Santa Fe Public Schools, Santa Fe Botanical Gardens, Xerces Society; and other city Departments such as Parks, Public Works and Environmental Services. Pilot projects are also a way for us to quickly gain information on proposed programming. We have several ongoing pilot projects/programs which include work with restaurants, hotels, commercial properties and residential subdivisions to identify water conservation opportunities.

Covid restrictions have changed the way that we collaborate and as work has become more streamlined with the new technology allowing remote meetings, partnership opportunities have expanded and the pool of expertise available to the Water Conservation Office has become both deeper and broader.

The Water Conservation Office is fully staffed and the Water Conservation Committee currently has full membership. A strategic planning effort was completed for the water division and launched this calendar year which is being integrated down to each section in the city water division. Due to COVID, the WCO learned how to do business in a hybrid mode. Everyone had the capability to work from home so the work was easily divided so that COVID safety requirements could be met. Safety and professional training opportunities were given and met through the Next Generation Water Summit, City training through Local Gov and safety training developed by the water division. The FY 2022 budget for water conservation was approved and will take effect on July 1, 2021.

Our water conservation demonstration gardens have never looked better. We are not showcasing a cactus garden put in for us by the Cactus Rescue Project and a native plant garden showcasing new pollinator plants. Our water conservation committee currently has three working groups focusing on outdoor demand, commercial sector opportunities and with the County's Water Policy Advisory Committee to look at joint water conservation opportunities.

City of Santa Fe Water Conservation and Drought Management Plan 2015: 2020 Addendum

Executive Summary | Click here for PDF

This addendum (2020 Addendum) to the City of Santa Fe Water Conservation and Drought Management Plan 2015 (15 Plan) exists to update three sections of the City of Santa Fe Water Conservation and Drought Management Plan 2015: the Water Conservation Goals, Gallons per Capita per Day (GPCD) water usage and findings of the American Water Works Association’s Non-Revenue Water Audit (AWWA Audit). This report will be submitted to the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer (NMNMOSE) in fulfillment of permit requirements and consistent with New Mexico’s Water Conservation Planning Guide for Public Water Suppliers, also known as Technical Report 53.

Over the past five years, Santa Fe’s GPCD has remained relatively flat and low between 87 and 95 GPCD with an increase in 2018 due to a dry winter and early onset of the irrigation season. This value makes Santa Fe a regional leader in water conservation.

AWWA audit findings, which quantify both the amount of non-revenue water for a year as well as the confidence level of that finding and then makes recommendations for improvements, show low non-revenue water (5-10%) and a low confidence interval which means that more metering is needed to be sure of the outcome. The AWWA audit’s recommendations for improvement are focused on increasing the confidence interval through more detailed metering including backflow prevention, meter calibration, and master metering.

The primary goal of the 2020 Addendum was the incorporation of public input to develop the Water Conservation Goals – Section 4. Incorporation of public input prior to updating this addendum was a primary goal. To develop the goals for this addendum, Water Conservation Office (WCO) staff conducted a series of public meetings designed to collect public input. The full extent of this public input is included as Exhibit D and the input is organized into a Public Input Matrix of initiatives and strategies for addressing the most pressing concerns. The Public Input Matrix is a framework for evaluating projects and opportunities in terms of their consistency with the goals identified through public outreach and is included as Exhibit A. Exhibit C documents the public process used.

A second priority in setting Water Conservation Goals was to find synergy with ongoing or planned City initiatives. Using the framework from the Public Input Matrix, WCO staff evaluated many existing City initiatives and planning documents for points of intersection where projects could augment ongoing City efforts by adding value consistent with the public input obtained. The resulting Planning Matrix, included as Exhibit B, identifies some opportunities for the WCO to add value to ongoing projects in other City departments and provides a process for identifying opportunities as they arise.

The third component of the Water Conservation Goals in this 2020 Addendum was to continue successful projects, such as the rebate program and the Water Conservation Scorecard. The WCO scorecard has been an effective tool to guide, measure, and report on WCO projects and the 5-Year Scorecard, included as section 4.3.2 this report, will be the primary guidance document for the WCO during the planning period. Individual scorecards, starting with the 2020 scorecard – section 4.3.3 – will be developed annually based on the Water Conservation Goals in the 5-Year Scorecard and with public input through an annual meeting and the Public Input Matrix.

City of Santa Fe Water Conservation and Drought Management Plan 2015: 2020 Addendum

Click here to view the Public Input & Planning Matrices

Public Input Matrix

The Public Input Matrix is one outcome of a series of public meetings held in spring and summer 2019. The first meeting was primarily informational and provided background on the Santa Fe Water Division, water sources and distribution system, and the role of the WCO. The four remaining meetings each focused on specific areas of interest to the work of the WCO: residential water use, commercial water use, climate change, and partnerships. A detailed description of the process for these meetings and the evaluation of the input collected, as well as a compilation of all of the public input collected is included.

The input collected from these meetings was entered into a spreadsheet and then evaluated for reoccurring themes. The most prominent themes were then organized into two categories: Initiatives and Strategies.

• Initiatives are areas of potential focus for WCO projects and form the columns of the Public Input Matrix. The initiatives identified are Outdoor Water Use, Enforcement / Regulation, Urban Forest / Food, Sustainable Tourism, and Sustainable Growth.
• Strategies are techniques or tools that can help with the accomplishment of initiatives and form the rows of the Public Input Matrix. The strategies identified are Leading by Example, Partnerships, Education, Water Harvesting, Infiltration, Reduction of Runoff, Incentives, and Public Involvement.

The cells at the intersection of these two axes – Initiatives and Strategies – contain specific projects, programs, and partnerships collected via public input. The purpose of the Public Input Matrix is to provide a framework for the work of the WCO to help identify and evaluate potential projects in terms of their consistency with the goals of City of Santa Fe water customers.

Planning Matrix

The City has a multitude of planning documents and a comprehensive evaluation of each is beyond the scope of the 2020 Addendum, but a group of relevant plans have been reviewed and meetings have been held with other City departments to identify likely partnerships. The Planning Matrix provides a snapshot of points of intersections with some of the City’s planning documents that seem most clearly related to water conservation including the 25-Year Sustainability Plan, Incorporating Green Infrastructure into Roadway Projects in Santa Fe (LID manual), and the Stormwater Master Plan.

2020-2025 Water Conservation Goals

The WCO has been successful with many ongoing projects and this 2020 Addendum is an opportunity to re-envision the goals and programs of the office with the hindsight gained from five more years of operation. There are three sources for the 2020-2025 Water Conservation Goals: public input, synergy with other City departments and plans, and opportunities to augment ongoing conservation projects.

Extensive public outreach was conducted in preparation for writing this plan and extensive public input was collected through a series of mediated public meetings and through savewatersantafe.com. This input was organized and prevalent ideas were organized into the Public Input Matrix. The Public Input Matrix is intended to serve as a tool to evaluate and guide the office in the long- and short-term by providing a metric for evaluating prospective projects.

Many City departments work in areas where there are opportunities for water conservation, and a desire for the City to lead by example was one of the most common pieces of input we received from the public. This addendum uses the structure of the Public Input Matrix to evaluate existing City plans and programs for points of synergy. The resulting Planning Matrix, attached as Exhibit B, directs and prioritizes potential WCO projects based on the ability to work collaboratively with other City departments.

The WCO has been part of the City Water Division for more than 20 years and many ongoing projects continue to be successful and will be continued. Projects that will continue include the rebate program, restaurant pilot project, and the WCO scorecard.

The WCO has been successful in using an annual scorecard, developed in conjunction with the WCC, for guidance, tracking, and reporting. The 2020 Addendum uses the existing WCO scorecard format to structure the 2020-2025 Water Conservation Goals, which were developed using the Public Input and Planning Matrices.

How are we doing?

It was a challenging year but the water conservation office did a great job meeting its goals due to the flexibility built into this scorecard. Ongoing programs like public outreach and the education program that have been essential components of the office endured the biggest impacts of 2020. The Water Conservation Office (WCO) is continuing critical programs including tracking water usage efficiency, issuing rebates to water customers, and sending out leak letters to warn customers of likely leaks.

Looking ahead to 2021, the following will be the water conservation office foci:

City partnerships – City’s Canopy project, Bee’s City USA, Neighborhood pilot in Nave Ade, Neighborhood raingarden pilot that includes building out places and demonstrations that the public can visit and still maintain social distancing
Complete overhaul of education program – build out of virtual hybrid passport model to launch in fall 2021 with help of a task force of previous passport teachers and city education outreach partners
Work with other city departments such as the library, recreation and transportation to distribute outreach material to children and adults
Incorporate messaging into the art community (art commission, tourism)
Updates to rebate program that include passive rainwater capture such as rain gardens to encourage residents to utilize supplemental water sources for outdoor irrigation
Focus on reducing outdoor water use beginning with public input sessions held with stakeholders to help inform the program foundation
Continue to work closely with the Water Conservation Committee under the leadership of Councilor Romero-Wirth to continue to discuss water conservation opportunities for the City of Santa Fe.

The WCO uses this scorecard to track progress against identified goals. The Water Conservation Committee (WCC) scores the WCO on the progress made mid-year – none, some, significant, or complete. This document contains a graphic snapshot for each goal, followed by detailed metrics on the complete mid-2020 WCO scorecard table.

A Community Toolkit on the 5-Year Water Conservation Plan