Colorado Water Loss Initiative

Following House Bill 1051 in 2010, covered entities (selling 2,000 acre-feet or more per year) in Colorado were required to submit reporting on water loss. In 2015, a pilot program was introduced to 50 water systems delivering the key concepts of water auditing and the M36 methodology. In 2018, the Colorado Water Conservation Board created the Colorado Water Loss Initiative - a 24-month program designed to teach water utilities and assist them with the implementation of best practices for the management of water losses. There is no requirement for utilities in Colorado to submit annual water audits. As such, this is the largest voluntary statewide water loss program in the United States to date.

Phase two of the program goes beyond water audits and assists participating utilities with targeted interventions for water loss management, such as supply input meter testing, billing data analysis and prorating, customer meter test design and result analysis, real loss component analysis, and leak detection. The second phase of the CWLI started in August 2021 and will run through 2024. It will integrate basic training and practices to new participants, as well as advanced training and technical assistance to those that successfully complete the water audit validation step. More than 25 systems have taken advantage of the training or technical assistance offerings in phase two of the program, with others on track to continue the journey in 2023.

Visit the program website at coloradwaterloss.org