Willows Water District6930 South Holly Circle

Centennial, Colorado 80112303-770-8625

www.willowswater.org

Willows’ office building is located at6930 S. Holly Circle. You can get yourquestions answered there or on ourwebsite. The office, constructed inColorado mountain style, contains aboardroom and library, administrativeand billing offices, and a lower levelgarage for district maintenancevehicles, repair shop and storage.

WILLOWS WATER. SERVING WITH SUCCESS

Willows Water DistrictCentennial, Colorado

WILLOWS WATER. JOIN THE FAMILY

Willows Water District has providedquality and dependable drinking water tohomes and businesses in the heart ofArapahoe County since 1974.

From its formation as a smallgroundwater-based utility, to its currentposition as an organized waterenterprise, Willows has built areputation as a well-constructed andwell-managed district.

Willows has seen a lot of changes duringits growth, and the direction the districthas taken will provide its residential andcommercial customers the best in waterand service.

Willows is a Title 32 special district, organized to provide water service within a 3.6 square milearea of Arapahoe County. It operates as a quasi-governmental municipal corporation, and is an“enterprise” under Colorado law. Residents and property owners in the District elect its fivedirectors.

When Willows was established in 1974, Denver Water was not providing water to suburbanareas. Willows began using well water to serve its customers.

The District acquired rights to groundwater sources in the Denver Basin aquifers, anddeveloped additional wells as demand grew. The District constructed the infrastructurenecessary to provide a reliable water system, with storage reservoirs, conduits, a boosterstation, water distribution mains in neighborhood streets, and a telemetry control system.

By the early 1990s Willows operated a network of more than 20 wells both in the District andin Northern Douglas County.Willows also built connections with Denver Water’s system forsupplemental supplies. One large subdivision within the district boundaries, Highlands 460, isserved by Denver Water under a “read and bill” agreement, with Denver Water providing waterand collecting the bills, but with Willows collecting property taxes in the area and maintainingthe distribution system.

Willows accumulated surface water rights which were traded to Denver Water for additionaltreated water. This trade was the initial step towards the District receiving its supply fromDenver Water through a “master meter” agreement. In April, 2002,Willows finished purchasingwater “taps” from Denver Water to cover their 4,800 residential and commercial accounts.This agreement provided Willows with replenishable resources and eliminated the dependenceon finite groundwater resources. Willows, in turn, was able to sell its well water rights andsystem to help pay for the Denver system buy-in.

Denver Water delivers 234,000 acre feet of treated water every year to more than one millioncustomers in the Denver metro area, about half of those customers are in the suburbs, likeWillows.

WILLOWS HISTORY. A LOOK BACK

WILLOWS FINANCIAL SNAPSHOTWillows is a financially strong special district. Most of its revenues are derivedfrom water sales and fees, with property taxes and interest income providing theremainder of the revenue.Willows works to keep its rates, fees and taxes low.

Willows maintains excellent ratings from the key bond investor services: Aaafrom Moody’s and AAA from Standard & Poors.

WILLOWS REPUTATIONOver the years Willows gained a good reputation as a progressive and well-managed water system. During the years it operated a well system, Willowsreceived a federal grant to evaluate the viability of aquifer recharge by addingexcess water in wet seasons to deep underground aquifers and retrieving thestored water during dry seasons.

The District was among the first utilities to install SCADA (System Control andData Acquisition) telemetry among all its wells, pump stations and reservoirs tobetter control water delivery by remote instruction.

Willows converted household water meters to scan technology for remotereading, and encourages customers to use automatic deduction for bill paying.

WILLOWS. FINANCIALLY STRONG AND PROGRESSIVE

Customers: 4,800 (95% residential) East areaLand area: 2,300 acres 3.6 square miles

Average annualwater consumption: East area - 3,200 acre feet

Highlands 460 - 800 acre feetDistrict-wide - 4,000 acre feet

Average family use: Half an acre foot, about163,000 gallons per year

PROFILE: Willows Water District

IF YOU LIVE OR WORK IN:Arapahoe Village

Brookhaven

Carriage Gate

Cherry Park

Dry Creek Townhomes andOffice Village

Festival

Fox Pointe

Foxridge

Georgetown Village

Grey Hill

Highland View

Highlands 460

The Hillside

YOU ARE A WILLOWS CUSTOMER,

Website address: willowswater.org

Billing cycle: Bi-monthly

Board Meetings: 7:30 a.m.,Third Friday of every month

EMERGENCY: 303-770-8625AutoPay: AutoPay is the District’s

automated bill paying option.Your bi-monthly water invoiceis deducted directly from yourchecking or savings account at no additional charge.Contact the District office forenrollment details.

IMPORTANT FACTS:

Holly Creek

Homestead

Homestead Farm

Homestead Office Park

Homestead in the Willows

Liberty Hills

Mill Creek

Mira Vista

Monterey

Olde Mill

Ridge (The)

Spring Creek

Sterling Pointe

Sturbridge

Sunrise

CONSERVATIONConsumer interest in water conservation increases and decreasesdepending upon water availability.

Colorado’s natural drought cycle prompted water restrictions andwater usage surcharges in 2002 and 2003. Willows uses its customernewsletter, special mailings, and website to provide water conservationstrategies, including water calendars and water restrictions.

Conservation is not just a habit, but is a lifestyle decision. It is more thansimply watching lawn watering times, turning off faucets, and repairingleaky toilets. Water conservation involves lifestyle changes, droughtresistant landscaping design, rethinking lawn irrigation with updatedtimers and rain detectors, and buying appliances that use less water.

As a Denver Water customer, Willows is now contractually obligatedto follow and enforce the rules that Denver Water imposes on itscustomers.

WATER QUALITY

Willows water has always met Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)requirements and had excellent taste.

The surface water collected and treated by Denver Water is of highquality and consistently surpasses drinking water standards.

The EPA requires every water utility serving over 15 serviceconnections, of which Willows is one, to send a “Consumer ConfidenceReport” to every customer on an annual basis.

The report contains laboratory test results and measurements ofminerals, chemicals and substances found in drinking water as a resultof the origin of the water. Willows publishes the report in the springwith a mailing to every customer.

Willows water is regularly tested at the laboratories of the ColoradoDepartment of Public Health and Environment. Water quality reportsare open for public inspection at the district offices.

Willows works to maintain a secure water system.

WILLOWS WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

WATER SERVICE SHUT-OFF VALVEThe District occasionally receives calls from distressedhomeowners who are experiencing a water leak and do notknow how or where to shut off their water.While the Districtwill dispatch field service representatives to assisthomeowners in these situations, a lot of damage may occurbefore a District service person or a plumber responds.

The main water supply valve (M) inside the house should beaccessible and family members should know where it is andhow to operate it in case of emergencies.The location of shut-offs for other utilities, such as gas and electric service, shouldalso be known. A few minutes of time locating and discussingthese items with your family may help prevent future damageor injury.

The main shut-off valve (M) is most often found in the basement in a direct line from thestreet and below the water meter.The valve is normally on a vertical supply pipe where itenters the house from outside.Turning the valve clockwise shuts off the water serviceto the entire house. Know where your shut-off valve is, especially if a basement-remodeling project has concealed the valve behind drywall or paneling.

WATER METERThe water meter is typically located in the basement, with aremote reading device (scan disk) on the outside front or sidewall of the home.Willows’ meter readers obtain the reading onthe meter through the Hexagram scan disk, using a hand-heldcomputer, and upload the reading into Willows’ billing software.We recommend that customers periodically check the readingon the meter with that on the bill to check billing accuracy.Please keep in mind that readings are taken at the beginning of

every even numbered month.Your observed reading may differ slightly based on readingdate. If you believe there is an error, please notify Willows customer service staff.

CURB STOP COVERWhether the meter is inside or outside a residence or business, acurb stop valve and access box is outside the structure, usually at thefront property line, where the water pipe enters the customer’sproperty. The curb stop box has a four to five-inch diameter cover,which provides access to the underground valve. Frequently, the curbstop box becomes damaged or broken during final grading orlandscape installation.When this occurs, the valve cannot be operatedand may result in extensive delays in efforts to turn off water servicefor repairs.

The customer is responsible for maintenance of the curb stop valve and box.We stronglyrecommend that our customers identify where their curb stop box is located in the eventof an emergency necessitating water shut off at the curb stop.

What Every Customer Needs to KnowPLEASE TEAR OFF OPPOSITE PAGE AND KEEP FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

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