This council session started with the presentation of the Jasmine Project. The project was prepared by Bob Doyle, a Greenwood Village resident, and by Brandi Honeycutt, a Conservation Specialist at Denver Water. The objective of this ongoing project is to assess and apply the best management practices and technology for saving water and reducing yearly irrigation and water expenses. The Jasmine Project team has formed relations with Denver Water to help implement this plan. Denver Water completed free water audits for 14 homeowners in located in the Greenwood Hills neighborhood. Thirteen out of fourteen of these homeowners said that the measures taken were easy and inexpensive to implement, and that they ultimately reduced their outdoor water use. This audit and project participation educated participants and made them more aware of water efficiency, while saving them money on their water bills.
The Jasmine Project fostered ideas that, if implemented, could potentially lead to an overall reduction in water use in the City of Greenwood Village. The first idea is to send each single-family residential property in the City of Greenwood Village a letter including a graph showing the target water consumption amount based on the property’s irrigated area, and will show the actual amount of water being used. This will allow customers to see whether or not they are using more water than required, and can make adjustments to reduce water use if needed. Also, the letter will compare residents to their neighbors with similar landscape characteristics. Customers who are using more than the target amount can contact Denver Water to request a water audit to help manage their water usage.
Another way Denver Water and the Jasmine Project hope to reduce water use is by educating the public on water conservation techniques and new technology such as Xeriscape landscaping. Denver Water will work with the City of Greenwood Village to educate residents on this Garden in a Box Program. Denver Water provides a discount to customers who purchase the gardens and use them to replace a portion of turf in their landscape. The gardens consist of low?water?use plants, and come with a planting model so customers know how much space to leave between plants and how to arrange them. These Xeric areas, once established, will not require as much irrigation water. In conclusion, the Jasmine Project has demonstrated that healthy landscapes can be maintained by using less water and efficient watering techniques.