Planning
Master Plans
Greeley Water and Sewer updates its master plans every 5 to 10 years. This consistency allows the department to update infrastructure assets of different systems and prioritize capital improvement projects. The plans account for future growth, potential regulatory changes, and aging infrastructure to provide specific steps toward reliable water, sewer, and non-potable systems for Greeley to 2025, 2040, and beyond.
Review Plans
Four-Point Plan for Greeley’s Water
Water is a scarce resource, especially in the western United States. As Colorado's population grows, existing water supplies must be stretched to meet community needs. Greeley Water and Sewer, with the Board's leadership, is working to ensure our residents have a secure and reliable water supply for years through a Four Point Plan.
1 Improving Conservation
Greeley has been a leader in water conservation for over 100 years. Today, the conservation program is one of the largest and most successful in the state, reducing water demand by more than 20 percent in recent years. We must do all we can to conserve this precious resource.
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2 Strengthening Infrastructure
Greeley supplies nearly 140,000 people with up to 50 million gallons of potable water daily. This obligation requires an extensive network of pipes, water treatment plants, a wastewater reclamation plant, water reservoirs, and a variety of pumping stations. We keep this system in top shape by:
- Continuous maintenance of our system (detecting/repairing leaks and rehabilitating old pipes) Adding new capacity (ex. new 60-inch pipeline from Bellvue Water Treatment Plant)
- Constantly upgrading facilities to improve efficiency (ex. Sealing joints in the Gold Hill reservoir built in the 1970’s to reduce leakage in our treated water reservoirs by 89 million gallons per year)
3 Continuing Water Acquisition
Greeley must add more water supply to meet our long-term needs. However, competition for water supplies and costs are increasing. Greeley is buying additional water now from willing sellers before it becomes too expensive or unavailable to our community.
Most newly-acquired water comes from one of the most desirable high-quality sources in the Poudre River basin -- the Water Supply and Storage Company (WSSC). WSSC imports about 50 percent of the water from the Colorado and Laramie rivers. The city can reuse and recycle this imported water which helps our water supplies go further.
Before 1960, Greeley bought water ahead of demand. Since then, few major water purchases have occurred because developers must dedicate additional water for their projects.
The city must return to its former practice of buying water ahead of demand to secure Greeley's water future.
Agricultural water purchases have occurred for nearly 20 years. Greeley buys water from farmers who want to sell, then we lease the water back to the farmers for 10 to 20 years, allowing them to continue farming while Greeley has a secure future supply.
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4 Expanding Storage
Water storage is needed to protect the city against drought and to hold spring runoff for use in the peak summer usage.
Greeley has gravel lake storage and will continue to acquire more mined-out gravel pits for water storage.
Windy Gap Project Greeley is a partner with several other front range communities to store Colorado Big Thompson water. The project will provide one reservoir to be shared by participating water providers rather than each building its own storage, minimizing costs and environmental impacts.
- The cornerstone of our water storage expansion plan is the Terry Ranch aquifer that provides Greeley with more than 1.2 million acre-feet of “drought-proof” water and storage capacity below ground.
Drought Emergency Plan
Colorado is a drought-prone, semi-arid environment. Greeley only receives about 13 inches of precipitation annually. Most landscapes need more water than that, so property owners supplement through irrigation.
Greeley's Drought Emergency Plan, approved by the Water and Sewer Board and city council, has triggers for when outdoor water use must be restricted. The Plan includes the following important objectives:
- Create equity in water use among Greeley customers
- Minimize impacts on landscapes
- Minimize financial impact on customers and the water utility
Greeley Drought Plan Presentation for Council - 02-16-21 Final
Greeley Drought Emergency Plan - January 2021
Water Conservation Plan
In 2022, Greeley developed a new water conservation plan with input from the community. The State Water Conservation Board will review the final plan. We will post it as soon as approved.
Download the Draft 2022 Water Efficiency Plan
Greeley provides many free tools and resources to encourage Water Conservation and help residents save water and money.
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