Good Stewards in a Dry Climate: BVSD’s New Framework for Water Conservation

Photo: Students learn about the importance of water conservation at the annual CU water festival. 

This year’s seemingly snowless winter reminds us of the dire need for conserving water in our dry environment. For the first time, Boulder Valley School District grounds managers had to turn on irrigation systems in February to provide parched landscaping with mid-winter water that typically comes from regular doses of melting snow. Responsible water use has been a component of BVSD’s ongoing sustainability efforts and, looking ahead, the district is discussing how to go deeper with our work in this area. 

As part of BVSD’s Sustainability Action Plan, in 2024 the district created a water management team that includes representatives from our Facilities team, in particular plumbing, grounds, and maintenance, as well as the Sustainability team. The group has been working to develop a water management plan that models responsible water use in an arid climate. 

BVSD is motivated to be a good steward of both this increasingly scarce resource and taxpayer dollars. In developing the plan, staff have identified opportunities to reduce the district’s planned water consumption as well as unintended use that results from leaks in plumbing and irrigation systems. 

"We live in a very arid climate which is getting increasingly impacted by drought conditions due to climate change. As an institution that is both in charge of educating our kids and also committed to sustainability, it is our responsibility and duty to treat water as the limited resource that is and use it responsibility," chief sustainability officer Dr. Ghita Carroll commented. 

Water is needed every day to operate school buildings and maintain properties. BVSD has already made great strides in reducing water used for these needs with efforts such as installing synthetic turf fields, installing low flow, sensor-activated fixtures such as faucets and toilets, updating irrigation controls to provide more control over when and how long irrigation systems run. Since 2008, water use is down over 30%! However, over that same period, costs have surged by 73%, underscoring the need to intensify our efforts. 

The water team sees more opportunities for conserving water, particularly related to cutting unplanned use in the form of system leaks. One way the team sees to reduce use in this area is with real time information about water consumption at each site. Currently in many cases, information about water use—and waste due to a leak in the system—lags until the water bill arrives. Indoor and outdoor water meters at each site with flow sensors, leak detection and auto shutoff, could significantly improve the time it takes to identify and address issues.

Two big areas where the district will focus efforts moving forward are boosting efficiency for outdoor water use (currently 83% of the district’s overall water use), and moving away from using domestic water for irrigation. This means investigating ways to reuse water, or finding other sources such as ditch water or reclaimed water.  

Looking ahead and taking action

The new water plan describes future actions the district can take, organized in a four-part framework: foundational activities, targeted technical assistance, educational activities, and ordinances and regulations. 

Foundational activities lay the groundwork for successful efficiency programs implementing efforts such as water metering, data collection, planning and staffing. BVSD is already collecting and evaluating available data. The water management plan and water team are other examples of foundational activities. 

The water team is hoping to expand water metering at all sites, including differentiating between indoor use and outdoor use. Doing so requires new equipment and software, which are examples of targeted technical assistance. The ultimate aim is meters that can help detect leaks and auto shutoff when needed. Other examples of targeted technical activities include 

Installing xeriscaping, removing unnecessary sinks from classrooms, and exploring using non-domestic water sources (such as ditches or gray water) for irrigation. 

The dramatic increase in water and wastewater costs changes the math on evaluating potential new conservation solutions. An option that at one time may not have been cost effective due to high initial costs might be a viable choice now given the long term lifecycle savings in water and money. 

Of course, as an educational institution, teaching about water conservation has long been part of BVSD’s curriculum. Most BVSD elementary students attend an annual water festival held at the University of Colorado-Boulder to learn about water saving activities and more. In the context of the water management plan, educational activities will also include training staff in the building how to turn off water sources when they see a leak or a stuck flush valve to stop the flow until a district plumber can address it. These small actions can go a long way toward avoiding wasting water and reducing costs. 

Creating standard operating procedures around these activities institutionalizes the knowledge and is an example of what could be done under ordinances and regulations. BVSD’s green building guiding principles are another example of this principle in practice. Another element of the plan includes looking at stormwater fees and exploring opportunities for reducing costs for how it is managed at district sites. 

The new water management plan will be incorporated into the updated sustainability action plan which is currently in development and will be finalized this spring.

Learn more about BVSD’s sustainability efforts on our sustainability website.