Holly Mutual Water District Overview

The Holly Mutual Water Company is a nonprofit corporation that provides irrigation water from its wells to 48 properties in southeast Cherry Hills Village. It was formed in 1956 and subsequently provided both household and irrigation water to its shareholders. In 1999 the shareholders voted to negotiate a dual water system with Denver Water, whereby Denver Water would install a second distribution system to provide potable water for in-home use, and the existing Holly Mutual distribution would from then on provide non-potable water for irrigation only. Cherry Hills Village established a 20 year bond to raise the necessary funds, and the Denver Water distribution was constructed in 2000. Each shareholder is individually responsible for paying their share of the bond, which is billed as a line item on yearly property tax statements. Cherry Hills Village recently negotiated a reduction from the original bond interest rate. Shareholders have had the option at any time to pay off the remaining principal of their debt, and should contact Cherry Hills Village if they so choose.

The Holly Mutual Water District consolidates all water rights previously held by the individual properties in the Charlou Park Addition (16 lots) and the Charlou Park Second Addition (32 lots) for the Denver, Arapahoe, and Laramie-Fox-Hills Aquifers. For the 120 acres of this subdivision, Holly Mutual is permitted draw up to 148.1 acre-feet of water from wells each year. However Holly Mutual only operates wells drilled to the Arapahoe Aquifer, limiting use to 84 acre-feet of water per year.

The two Holly Mutual wells are located on the Piedmont and Whitehall streets. These wells were drilled in the 1980s and have been drawing from the Arapahoe Aquifer since that time. As the level of the aquifer diminishes from use by Holly Mutual and other users in the area, the pumps in the wells have been lowered. With each lowering the production rates of the Holly Mutual wells have diminished. Years ago the combined well pumping rates were in the neighborhood of 400 gallons/minute, which could sustain 24 hours of continuous use by the shareholders. Today the combined well pumping rates are nearer 150 gallons/minute, meaning the wells can no longer directly provide water to shareholders. However each well has an associated water storage tank that is used to collect well water pumped 24 hours a day. By only distributing water for a portion of the day, Holly Mutual is still able to supply peak rates up to 400 gallons/minute by primarily drawing on its storage tanks.

Estimating the remaining life for wells is difficult and frequently inaccurate. While Holly Mutual has no information indicating either of the wells is close to end-of-life, there may be little or no warning when this happens. Shareholders will be advised of any change in well life status, but should prepare a strategy in case the Holly Mutual supply must be drastically reduced or completely ended without warning.

Furthermore the quality and redundancy of the Holly Mutual distribution system is marginal, and it is not unusual for the system to be unavailable for days at a time during repairs. Shareholders requiring a reliable irrigation water supply may choose to supplement or replace their Holly Mutual allocation with Denver Water. However Denver Water requires any dual-supply irrigation system to meet strict design standards to prevent backflow, and the final implementation must be specifically approved by Denver Water.

Holly Mutual does not charge for water used by its shareholders. Instead, each property receives an identical monthly bill to cover operating and maintenance costs. For questions regarding billing, contact the Holly Mutual accountant, Kris Morse, at tkmzmorse1@msn.com or 720-289-8789. Well maintenance is provided to Holly Mutual by Colorado Water Well. Any water emergencies should be addressed by calling them at 303-892-9053. All other inquires and non-emergency issues should be sent to hollymutual@taom.com or by calling a board member. Holly Mutual maintains an email list to which important well status messages are occasionally sent. Information and links to sign up for this email list are available at:

http://www.taom.com/~hollymutual/contacts.html

Irrigation Schedule

To provide time for the wells to replenish the storage tanks each day, and to limit water usage to the legal limit of 84 acre-feet per year, Holly Mutual follows the following distribution schedule:

April 16 to June 15: 3 am to 10 am
June 16 to August 15: 12 am to 10 am
August 16 to September 30: 3 am to 10 am

Each shareholder is allocated two days per week, and may irrigate during the above times only on those days. The shareholder irrigation schedule is available at:

http://www.taom.com/~hollymutual/WateringSchedule.pdf

Holly Mutual provides irrigation water on a “best-effort” basis, and does not guarantee water will be available to shareholders. Failures in the Holly Mutual system do occur, and with no reserve capacity, there is no ability for any loss in irrigation time to be “made up”. However there are irrigation strategies that minimize impact when failures happen. The Holly Mutual system is designed to alternate water distribution between its two wells. Normally one well supplies water for two hours, after which the other well supplies water for the next two hours, and so forth. If one of the wells fails or its storage tank runs dry, the other will keep providing water, but only during its scheduled times. During such a failure a shareholder irrigation system that makes one cycle through all of its zones during the allocated schedule times will experience “gaps”. Some zones would be fully watered, while others would receive no water. A more effective strategy is to cycle through all of the zones several times during the allocated hours. This way a single well failure is more likely to evenly distribute watering to all zones. This is generally recommended for heavy clay soils anyway, because it accounts for the slower absorption rate of clay.

Holly Mutual does not distribute any water during the winter months. During this time the wells are deactivated to minimize cost and undue wear and tear. Prior to the scheduled April 16 system activation, Colorado Water Well readies the wells for operation and checks the subdivision for leaks. It is not uncommon for problems to delay the start of operation in the spring. When irrigation water distribution begins, Holly Mutual also supplies water after the normal 10 am shutoff time each day for the first two weeks to allow shareholders and their irrigation system maintenance companies to activate and test their irrigation systems during daylight hours. However this extra time is only for testing, and irrigation after 10 am during this period is not permitted. Once the activation period is over, irrigation system maintenance requiring water pressure must be accomplished during the scheduled distribution times.

Although the official irrigation schedule ends on September 30, Holly Mutual does not always reach its legal supply limit by that date. In recent history Holly Mutual has extended the irrigation season into October when possible. Shareholders are advised by the Holly Mutual email list when any deviations or system failures occur.

Historically Denver Water has drastically increased water rates during droughts, and restricted watering schedules. Because Holly Mutual distributes well water, the Board of Directors has previously confirmed with Denver Water that the use of Holly Mutual water is exempt from such restrictions. However any system using Denver Water in complete or part is required to adhere entirely to the Denver requirements. When such restrictions are in place and a shareholder is exclusively using Holly Mutual water, it is recommended that a sign be conspicuously posted that specifies the property is irrigated solely by well water. This should prevent needless enforcement attempts by Denver Water inspectors. Holly Mutual provided such signs to each homeowner when this was originally negotiated.

Shareholders with special or unusual watering needs, such as the installation of new turf, may request modifications to their irrigation schedule from the Holly Mutual Board of Directors. These are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and sufficient time for this consideration must be anticipated by the shareholder.

Leaks and Floods

Holly Mutual is responsible for the maintenance of its distribution system up to the tap for each property. Homeowners are responsible for all pipes, valves, and sprinklers beyond the Holly Mutual tap. All homeowners must have a curb stop valve immediately downstream from their tap that allows the Holly Mutual water supply to their irrigation system to be turned on and off. When a leak occurs, turning off this valve normally helps identify whether the failure is on the Holly Mutual or homeowner side.

Leaks on the homeowner side should be addressed by the homeowner. In such cases homeowners are required by Holly Mutual to turn off their curb stop valve until the necessary repairs are completed to prevent water waste. Emergency water leaks in the Holly Mutual system may be called in directly to Colorado Water Well at 303-892-9053. All non-emergency matters should be emailed to hollymutual@taom.com or called to a board member’s attention. If the source of a leak cannot be determined, Holly Mutual will engage Colorado Water Well to fix the problem. If the failure turns out to be the homeowner’s responsibility, Holly Mutual will bill the homeowner for the charges.

Because of the age of the Holly Mutual distribution system, and the apparent cost-cutting effort made during its installation, it is not unusual for one or more leaks to appear during an irrigation season. All efforts are made to repair these leaks as quickly as possible, but major leaks normally require the entire Holly Mutual system to be shut down until repairs are completed. Not all leaks have a clear source, and unfortunately the contractor for the system installation did not supply Holly Mutual with complete or accurate maps of the distribution system. Over time Colorado Water Well has developed better system maps, but occasionally a previously unknown pipeline can increase the time to locate a leak. Certain repairs, such as a leak near or underneath a road, require city permits that take time for approval and administration. Because of this, in the past Holly Mutual has taken up to 2-3 weeks to repair exceptionally difficult leaks. However this is not typical. Shareholders subscribing to the Holly Mutual email list are notified whenever the functioning of the system is disrupted, and when it is returned to operation.

Denver Water Irrigation

To prevent the mixing of untreated well water with treated potable water, no linkages or cross-connects between the Holly Mutual well water system and the Denver Water systems are permitted. Shareholders are required to maintain backflow preventers on their household water system and to have them tested each year per Denver Water requirements.

The Holly Mutual contract with Denver Water specifies that both systems cannot be simultaneously connected to a homeowner’s irrigation system. Failure to abide by this could subject the homeowner to immediate disconnection by Denver Water. Denver Water has very strict regulations regarding dual-source irrigation that require an air gap between the two supplies. A valve arrangement that provides a switchover is not legal. Homeowners desiring to use both Holly Mutual and Denver Water for irrigation, even if the latter is only being used as a backup to Holly Mutual, must contact Denver Water and obtain all necessary approvals and inspections before operating a dual-source system. Holly Mutual plays no role in such matters, but is required by contract to report any noncompliant dual-source irrigation system to Denver Water.

Low Water Pressure and the Tragedy of the Commons

Centuries ago most towns kept an enclosed pasture, called the Commons, on which townspeople could graze a few livestock free of charge. It was expected that everyone would have approximately the same number of cows on the plot. People soon noticed that fattening an extra cow or two on the Commons was profitable, and so one by one the herd was enlarged by these entrepreneurs until there was not enough grass to keep all the cows alive. Over time the Commons usually became so damaged that no one could graze any cows on it at all. This tendency for a few to take advantage of, and ultimately destroy, free community resources came to be called the Tragedy of the Commons.

The Holly Mutual system is vulnerable to this problem. A two-day-per-week watering schedule provides enough water for irrigation for all the homes assigned to that day and is capable of keeping lawns green and shrubs healthy on most lots. However, there is not enough water to keep large lawns and extensive landscaping in perfect condition. Like those old towns of the past, the partnership operates on the honor system. There is no formal policing to ensure everyone waters only on their assigned day. Unfortunately some shareholders may set their irrigation controller to run their system on another shareholder's day. The outcome is that water pressure falls for everyone using sprinklers on that day, often to the point that no useful watering can be done by anyone. This can cause a snowball effect - as everyone's lawns begin to parch, others decide they must water on extra days, too, and soon a full-blown Tragedy of the Commons takes place. If a shareholder feels that their landscape requires more water than Holly Mutual can provide, arrangements can be made to disconnect from Holly Mutual and transfer landscaping irrigation to Denver Water. Alternatively, a completely separate irrigation system using Denver Water for more sensitive areas like lawns can be installed.

Shareholders must help Holly Mutual maintain a fair system. Every shareholder must make a commitment to water only on assigned days and to watch for abuse. Drops in water pressure that may indicate unfair use or an unnoticed leak, or reports of shareholders consistently irrigating lawns out of turn, should be reported to any board member or to hollymutual@taom.com in a timely fashion.

Smart Landscaping

In the past, most shareholders restricted landscaping to an area around their home, surrounded by large areas of pasture planted with un-irrigated native grasses. Over the last couple of decades, a tendency to fill the lot with landscaping has resulted in much higher water use at the same time as our well water is declining. By following the few basic principles below, our well supplies can be stretched so that it can continue to provide for us into the future.

Drought tolerant plants (xeriscape)
These cut water needs while still providing an attractive landscape
They are more likely to survive during times when the wells are down

Drip irrigation
This type of system requires lower water pressure to operate
It is still effective when pressures are too low for spray or rotor irrigation

Minimal lawns
Lawns require more water than other plantings, and spray irrigation is especially inefficient
Plant low water/drought tolerant lawns if possible; fescues are good for our area
Plant native grasses to fill large areas rather than covering with bluegrass

The Future of Holly Mutual

The Holly Mutual wells have provided water at a reasonable cost to our shareholders for 60 years. During this time, many other wells have been drilled into the aquifer from which we draw our supplies. Gradually the level of water in the aquifer has been declining, and our wells will some day become unproductive. There will not necessarily be any warning prior to a final loss of water pressure.

There are options that would allow Holly Mutual to continue to provide low cost non-potable water after the current wells run out. The Holly Mutual board is tracking these as possibilities, but believes some will become more feasible, and others less so, as time progresses. No decision will be made to proceed on any of the options without the participation of the shareholders, and none are currently as viable as the wells we already have.

When the current wells cease to be productive, there will be costs to close and seal them. Holly Mutual maintains a reserve fund sized to cover major operational failures, and the expected costs of shutting down the wells. If the Holly Mutual Water Company is itself shut down following the well closures, any remaining reserve will be distributed to the shareholders. Nevertheless there is a small chance that these closing costs could exceed the reserve fund, which would require the shareholders to pay their share of the remaining expenses. The board is determined to ensure this will not occur.