Four-Point Plan
Water is a precious commodity in the state of Colorado, and it is only going to become more precious as our population grows and more water is needed. Greeley Water and Sewer is working to make sure that our community has a secure
and reliable water supply, and with the leadership of the Greeley Water Board, has developed a plan to do just that.
It is the Four Point Plan, and through it, we ensure that our community has a safe and reliable water supply for years to come.
Improving Conservation
Greeley has a 100-year history of water conservation. Today, the conservation program is one of the largest and most successful in the state and has reduced water demand by more than 20% in recent years. It is critical that we do all we can to conserve this precious resource. Visit Greeley's Water Conservation Page for more information on programs, incentives, and events.
Strengthening Infrastructure
Greeley supplies approximately 139,638 people with up to 70 million gallons of water every day. We do this with an infrastructure of 770 miles of pipeline, two drinking water treatment plants, a wastewater reclamation
plant, three treated water reservoir sites, six raw water reservoirs, and a variety of pumping stations. The system is in top shape, and we do that by:
- Continuously maintaining our system by detecting and repairing leaks and rehabilitating old pipes.
- Adding new capacity to the system, such as our new 60-inch pipeline from our Bellvue Water Treatment Plant.
- Constantly upgrading facilities to make them as efficient as possible, such as the new liners we recently installed to reduce leakage in our treated water reservoirs.
Continuing Acquisition
Greeley needs to add more water supply to meet our needs over the coming years, at the same time that competition for water supplies is increasing and the water is getting more expensive. We need to buy additional water
now before it becomes too expensive or unavailable, and that is why Greeley works with willing sellers to purchase new water supplies for our community.
Some developers bring water and others bring funding that the city uses to buy water for the development. Until about 1960, Greeley bought water ahead of demand. Few major water purchases have occurred since 1960, because our supply has been supplemented by development. As farms transitioned into residential and commercial areas, water from irrigated agriculture served new land uses. In the future, opportunities to acquire water in this way are very limited. To secure our water future, we need to begin buying ahead again, to be reimbursed when development occurs.
Agricultural acquisitions have been occurring for nearly 20 years. Many farmers want to sell their water and it is from them that we are buying. Greeley leases the water back to the farmers for 10 to 20 years, allowing them to continue farming while Greeley has a secure future supply.
Expanding Storage
Water storage is needed to protect the city against drought and to hold spring runoff for use in the summer.
The cornerstone of our water storage expansion plan is with the Terry Ranch aquifer, which contains more than 1.2 million acre-feet of water and storage capacity below ground.
Greeley is a partner in the Windy Gap Firming Project. The firming project is the most effective way to provide the additional storage that Windy Gap water users need. Instead of each water provider building their own storage, the firming project takes a collaborative approach with one reservoir for all. This minimizes cost and impacts.
Greeley has gravel lake storage and will continue to acquire more facilities. Mined out gravel pits are lined and used for water storage.