Drought is often viewed as a water supply problem. But for utilities, the reality is far more complex. Drought management can be a multi-year journey in which utilities need to consider not just supply and demand challenges, but also operational, financial, and customer impacts.
In this episode, Hazen's Sarah Dominick talks with Greg Fisher, Manager of Demand Planning for Denver Water in Colorado, about lessons learned for utilities as they prepare for, respond to, and recover from drought.
Drawing from Greg's experiences navigating three major droughts with Denver Water, he and Sarah discuss how every drought is unique and the growing prevalence of drought even in traditionally water-rich states across the country. They dig into the benefits of robust monitoring, preparation, and scenario planning, and how an emergency response structure can establish crucial collaborations across departments.
They also highlight the importance of communicating with customers over the course of a drought, including examples of Denver Water's humor-driven marketing campaigns (think snow-less snow cones and drunk flowers.