Environmental Sustainability

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conservation-sustainability

The City of Loveland supports and actively participates in environmental sustainability and local and regional conservation efforts to preserve natural resources and mitigate the effects of climate change

In March 2020, the Citywide Strategic Plan was adopted by City Council. The plan contains eight focus areas, one of which is ‘Sustainability.’ The guiding statement for that area of focus is: "In Our Community, People Are Surrounded By Sustainable Natural Beauty And We Protect Our Natural Resources As A Legacy For Future Generations." While the city does not have a formalized conservation or sustainability policy, it has a number of programs and partnerships in place to support the Strategic Plan focus area.

For decades, the City of Loveland has been a state-wide leader in recycling. The City offers and encourages residential curbside recycling and also has a top-rated recycling center. Twice a year the Public Works Department will hold shred events so residents can shred sensitive documents, which are then recycled.

Loveland Water and Power also has many water and energy efficiency programs to help residents and businesses reduce their water and electricity use, as well as partnerships that support these efforts.

Some City projects and efforts include:

Construction of a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station, intended to fuel at least 60 of the city's diesel-burning vehicles that will be modified to use CNG.

The Foothills Solar Project - a 19-acre, 3.5 mega-watt solar facility has been providing clean energy to Loveland homes and businesses since 2017. Learn more about the City of Loveland's renewable energy programs.

The City’s Water Reclamation Facility uses a system called co-generation to save energy. During the decomposition process, biogas is produced. That biogas is then repurposed to heat the treatment tanks as they continue the decomposition process. Because this by-product of the process is used in place of natural gas to heat the treatment tanks, it saves energy.

Loveland partners with the Platte River Power Authority for clean energy

Loveland is one of four northern Colorado cities that get clean energy from Platte River Power Authority (PRPA). PRPA is pursuing a goal of providing a 100% non-carbon mix to its owner cities by 2030. This will include the closure of its Rawhide facility. PRPA's recent addition of the Roundhouse Wind Energy Center - a 225-megawatt, non-carbon resource - makes up nearly half of all energy delivered by the Authority. Learn more about PRPA's non-carbon resources.

More information on the City's sustainability and conservation programs can be found below:

Energy Efficiency

Loveland Water and Power provides resources to help residents and businesses save energy, reduce use of non-carbon energy sources and save money.

Programs include:

GreenSwitch - a clean, renewable energy option purchased in 100kWh blocks in addition to the regular monthly electric bill.

Electric Vehicles (EV's) - L EV charger oveland Water and Power supports the use of EV's through providing operational charging stations located throughout the City for public use.

Energy Efficiency Assistance - provides income-qualified customers with access energy efficient upgrades on appliances such as furnaces and refrigerators or adding insulation to improve a home's efficiency.

Energy Efficiency Rebates - rebates on home upgrades such as furnaces, AC units, water heaters, windows insulation and smart thermostats as well as free refrigerator recycling. ENERGY STAR provides additional energy-saving suggestions for every appliance in the house.

Energy Efficiency Assessments - identify inefficiencies in your home with the help of a professional and receive free efficiency products.

Efficiency Works - is a collaboration of common efficiency programs between the utilities of Estes Park Power & Communications, Fort Collins Utilities, Longmont Power & Communications, Loveland Water and Power and Platte River Power Authority.

Read more Loveland Water and Power's programs on how to save energy.

Water Conservation

As the Loveland community and other Front Range communities grow, the need to conserve water and develop water-saving measures, has come to be an important focus area for some City departments and regional water agency partners.

Some plans and initiatives include:

Loveland Water Efficiency Plan – updated in May of 2020, focuses on outlining existing water supply and setting goals to enhance future water use efficiency within the Loveland utility service area. This plan is outlined in the Loveland Strategic Plan.

Loveland Water Efficiency Committee – this multi-departmental committee, formed in 2019 as an outgrowth of the City of Loveland Water Efficiency Plan, is comprised of water and land use professionals within the City, who work to achieve the goals of the Water Efficiency Plan. Members of this committee attended the Growing Water Smart workshop in May 2021 to discuss existing and future land use policies/standards that address water efficiency. The workshop committee includes a landscape architect, a representative from the High Plains Environmental Center, and the Loveland Planning Commission Chair.

Northern Water Grant Program – is an incentive-based grant program that allows municipalities, business, HOAs and other organizations to apply for grant funding to retrofit existing landscapes to native and low-water use.

Loveland Water and Power also has a number of water efficiency programs to help residents use water wisely, support the health of our watershed and save money.

They include:

Garden in a Box - a curated collection of xeriscape plants that enable even beginner gardeners to plant low-water requiring, beautiful, sustainable gardens, offered at a discount to Loveland Water and Power customers.

Slow the Flow - a visual inspection and in-depth evaluation of a homeowner's sprinkler system, that provides residents with a list of clear, actionable list of ideas for how to reduce water use while keeping lawns healthy.

Water Efficiency Rebates - offered on items such as toilets, smart irrigation controllers, faucets and shower heads.

Hydrozone Program - promotes water-efficiency for developments that design, install and maintain water-efficient landscapes.

Raw water irrigation - the City parks listed below, are irrigated using raw (untreated) water:

Kroh Park	North Lake Park
Benson Park	Centennial Park
Barnes/Fairgrounds Park	Mehaffey Park
Loveland Sports Park	Silver Lake Park

Mariana Butte, the Olde Course and Cattail Creek golf courses are also irrigated with raw water.

Some Loveland business campuses including the site of the Forge Campus (former Rocky Mountain Center for Innovation & Technology) and parts of the Centerra complex also use raw water for irrigation.

Xeriscape - The City promotes the use and installation of native plants and groundcover that require little to no irrigation. Agency partners including the Colorado Native Plant Society, CSU Extension Native Plant Master® Program, Front Range Wild Ones, the High Plains Environmental Center, Butterfly Pavilion and the Denver Botanic Gardens, created a regional native plant guide to provide residents with information on the best native plants to grow in their region.

Read more about Loveland Water and Power's water-savings programs.

Recycling

The City of Loveland continues to be the state-wide leader in residential recycling. As of November, 2020, the City had outperformed every other municipal recycler for the fourth straight year and boasts a 60% landfill diversion rate.

The honor for 2020 puts Loveland ahead of second-place Boulder, with a 51% residential recycling rate. Louisville (38%), Lafayette and Longmont (both at 36%) round out the top five. Fort Collins’ residential rate was 28%.

The rankings are compiled annually by Boulder-based Eco-Cycle and the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG).The two groups’ research results are contained in their annual publication, “State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado.”

Colorado’s recycling rates have slipped from 17.2% in 2019 to 15.9% in the 2020 report. The rate posted by Loveland residents has been steady, varying between 60% and 61% for each of the past four years.

“Loveland’s program has been nationally recognized as a model for its volume-based pricing for trash that creates a strong financial incentive for households to recycle more and produce less waste,” the report’s authors noted.

See more information on the City's recycling efforts.

LEED Certification

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world, and provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings. Buildings earn one of four LEED rating levels: Certified (lowest), Silver, Gold or Platinum (highest). Learn more about LEED certification.

In 2010 the Loveland Public Library underwent an extensive renovation to meet the growing demand for library services and technology. The library, which received Gold level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, was the first City of Loveland building to receive LEED certification. The certification means that the library's building and design included and met standards for a set number of green building strategies across several categories such as energy efficiency, natural light and use of sustainable materials.

In 2014 the Public Works Administration Building opened. While the building did not specifically receive LEED certification, it was constructed using LEED design standards at a LEED-certified level.

Fire Stations 2, 6 and 7 all have LEED certification.

The Northern Colorado Law Enforcement Training Center, which opened in Spring of 2021, is in the process of obtaining LEED certification.