From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
“We won’t know what effect [lowered water sales] will have until the end of the year,” said Terry Book, deputy executive director at the Pueblo Board of Water Works. “You never can guess. We live off our (lawn) irrigation revenue. It’s been a steady year so far, but if we have a dry August, we may make it back.” Metered water sales revenue was only at 41 percent through the first half of the year, according to the most recent budget report. Water consumption within the system is nearly 2 percent below the five-year average, continuing a trend of lower per capita use that began in 2000…
First-half revenues were held down by a cool spring and frequent rains after temperatures finally warmed up, Book said. As of Monday, Pueblo officially had recorded 8.38 inches of rain, about an inch above average for the year. Other factors include conservation, either because of the change in attitudes found in the 2008 study, or because the city raised sewer rates, which are not set by the water board, but still appear on the same bill. Book said the peak days of usage reached all-time highs of more than 63 million gallons per day in 1997. This year, the highest reading has been 48 million gallons per day.