Sonoran Institute Growing Water Smart Metrics Guidebook and Program

Water scarcity is increasing in many parts of the United States due to supply shortages, population growth, and water quality degradation. To support in addressing this challenge, Brendle Group and Sonoran Institute developed the Growing Water Smart Metrics program that supports communities to track key water and land use metrics in support of their long-term resilience. This work is grounded in the Growing Water Smart Metrics Guidebook for Colorado, which Brendle Group and Sonoran Institute developed and published in 2020 in collaboration with water utility and land use planning staff from across Colorado.

Following the development of the guidebook, Brendle Group and Sonoran Institute have offered targeted technical assistance to support communities to collect, calculate, and apply metrics to support data-driven decisions related to integrated water and land use planning. Support includes end-to-end project management, data collection and analysis, and strategy development. We facilitate inclusive stakeholder engagement processes to align with community goals, and support ongoing implementation by documenting findings, identifying actionable next steps, and clearly defining roles and responsibilities. This holistic approach empowers local governments and water providers to make informed decisions, improve water efficiency, and integrate water-smart practices into planning and development.

Participating Colorado communities have included the cities of Fort Collins, Fort Lupton, Evans, Thornton, the Town of Bayfield, and the Little Thompson Water District. Support for these communities has included the development of custom water data dashboards, to allow communities to track metrics such as total water use, water use per person, percent of water used outdoors, and more. Communities are encouraged to consider data results in the context of key land use planning activities, like updates to landscaping code or updates to tap fees that encourage more water-wise development. In some cases, metrics support has looked directly at the correlation between land use or landscaping practices and water use. Brendle Group developed a scenario tool to help the City of Fort Lupton understand the high-level water use impacts of future land use planning decisions. Most recently, Brendle Group helped Thornton and Little Thompson Water District estimate how efficiently, or inefficiently, residents apply water to their landscapes. In both cases we worked collaboratively with the water providers to identify strategies to promote more efficient outdoor watering practices.