Conserving Water: How to Plan and Implement Cost-Effective Programs

1. Conserving Water: How to Plan and Implement Cost-Effective Programs Mary Ann Dickinson Executive Director Alliance for Water Efficiency

2. What the Public Can Perceive……..

3. When Does This Happen? • When water utilities do nothing until a crisis occurs and restrictions are enacted • Conservation then seen as deprivation • Underlying ethic is missing in water • Consumers unaware of actual water use • Consumers unaware of resource impacts • Water not priced to its true value, despite big bills for its distribution and pending shortages

4. Conservation’s Many Benefits • Drought Tool: short-term relief • PlanningTool: lessen gap between demand and available supply • EconomicTool: defer capital facilities for drinking water and wastewater treatment • e.g. US will spend a quarter trillion dollars by the year 2020 • Drinking and Wastewater SRF funds

5. Delay and Downsizing Means $

6. Seattle Example

7. National Standards Help • Residential as well as commercial plumbing products and appliances: • Toilets • Showerheads • Faucets • Urinals • Clothes Washers Commercial) • Dishwashers • Pre-rinse spray valves

8. Send Consumers to a Label • EPA Energy Star companion program • Voluntary program only • 20% more efficient • Performance Tested • Products: • HETs • Faucets • New Homes • Urinals • Irrigation Controllers

9. Retrofit to Standards and Labels • Residential Households • Commercial and Office Buildings • Industry and Manufacturing • Institutions • Indoor and Outdoor

10. How Much Can Be Saved? • 1998 AWWARF Study of residential end uses in 1300 homes in twelve cities using data-loggers • Without conservation, the household used on average 64.6 gallons per capita per day indoors • With conservation, the per capita per day figure is reduced to 44.7 gallons, or 30% savings

11. Relative Consumption • 1998 AWWARF Study showed national average of residential per capita consumption was 170 gallons per person per day • Brisbane Australia’s residential per capita is 36 gallons per person per day • No noticeable loss of lifestyle • Consumer behavior reductions are huge • How do WE get there? • Highlighting the benefits of conservation

12. Back to Conservation Benefits PROVIDING UTILITY SYSTEM VALUE • Satisfying the demands of new growth without needing additional capital investment for supply and treatment • Flattening the demand peak to reduce the need for water supply and treatment investment to meet an artificially high peak

14. The Water-Energy Connection

15. Benefits of Water Savings RESTORING ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES • Maintaining stream flows • Protecting groundwater supplies from excessive depletion • Reducing the discharge volume of wastewater • Reducing excessive runoff of urban contaminants now regulated under TMDLs • Reducing green waste from landscaped areas

16. So Where To Start? • Analyze the water system needs and pinpoint where you most need your savings targeted • Determine a baseline set of data for eventual evaluation • Analyze the water and energy use • Evaluate the water users and where the water is actually being consumed

17. Urban Water Uses: An Example

18. And Then? • Draw up a conservation plan and budget over a multiple year time frame • Justify the economics of each program choice • Plan for long-term savings evaluation that is comprehensive and statistically defensible • Readjust your program based on results achieved

19. First Steps Are Free Designate A Conservation Coordinator • Designate responsibility within agency to an individual identifiable to the public Prohibit Obvious Water Wastage with Simple Ordinances • Enact and enforce local ordinances prohibiting gutter flooding, single-pass cooling, non-recirculating systems in car washes and commercial laundries, non-recycling decorative fountains • Retrofit on resale, retrofit on reconnect, retrofit to grow • Example ordinances being compiled

20. Next: Educate the Public Public Information Programs • Provide speakers, advertising, and other information to promote water conservation School Education Programs • Work with school districts by providing materials for water conservation instruction The Right Consumer Messages Are Important

21. Message: Largest indoor water use • 28% of indoor water use is toilet flushing with potable water • Older toilets are 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush • Federal standard since 1992 is 1.6 gallons • New models at 1.28 gallons • Convince the consumers • Reduce the LEAKS!

22. Message: 2nd largest indoor water user • 15% of indoor water use is clothes washing • Energy Star Washers were not always water efficient • By 2011 all residential washers must be 9.5 WF • 40 MGD will be saved every year over older top-loading models

23. NEWS FLASH: Where the water is really going • 30-60% of urban residential water consumption is outdoor irrigation • 80% in some areas of the West • Over-irrigation is common, particularly in new homes with automatic irrigation systems • Reducing unnecessary irrigation reduces runoff and pollutant loading of streams • Reducing irrigation reduces summer peak

24. Not As Easy As Indoors • 35% more water used with in-ground sprinklers • 47% more water used with average domestic irrigation timers • Business and City landscapes have significant potential for water savings • High landscape water use increases waste and runoff

26. Next Steps Meter With Commodity Rate • Meter all new connections and bill by volume • Retrofit unmetered connections • Consider installing dedicated landscape meters Audit Your Water System and Repair Leaks • Conduct system audit with the new methodology • Monitor water delivery system for leaks and make cost-effective repairs

27. Authorized Consumption Billed Authorized Consumption Billed Metered Consumption Revenue Water Billed Unmetered Consumption Unbilled Authorized Consumption Unbilled Metered Consumption System Input Volume Unbilled Unmetered Consumption Unauthorized Consumption Non Revenue Water Apparent Losses Water Losses Customer Meter Inaccuracies Leakage and Overflows at Storage Tanks Leakage on Transmission and Distribution Mains Real Losses Leakage on Service Connections up to point of Customer Meter Adopt the New Method

28. Next Steps Explore Better Conservation Rates • Adopt water rates to provide an incentive to customers to reduce average or peak use • If utility provides both water and sewer service, apply conservation pricing to both • Customer should NOT be penalized for conserving • Adjust rate structure BEFORE undertaking conservation programs • Look at budget-based rates

29. We Are Still Pricing Wrong Adapted from Raftelis, 2002

30. Relative Price Graph Source: Thomas Chesnutt, A&N Technical Services

31. Water Budget-Based Rates? • Study just released by the AWWARF • Implemented in communities facing limited supplies/shortages • Seen as more equitable way to share limited supply while preserving choice • Need to communicate assumptions to customer and allow for necessary adjustment • No revenue loss from conservation; revenue GAIN!

32. Individualized Rate Concept Rate/unit Higher Rate Lower Rate Water Budget Units

33. Where Already Implemented

34. Documented Savings Period Otay Irvine Capo Valley pre ‘88-’90 Av 28.71 52.16 28.35 post ’90 Av 23.05 32.78 18.45 Difference -5.66 -19.38 -9.90 Percent Change -20% -37% -35% Values are irrigation rates in inches/acre

35. Typical Residential Programs Conduct Residential Audits • Offer residential customers water-use surveys which include checking for leak, flow rates, irrigation systems and schedules. Try contacting 20% of your customers each year to offer surveys. Offer incentives and devices. Retrofit Residential Plumbing • Best when tied to the audit program. • Provide 2.0 to 2.5 gallon-per-minute showerheads and aerators.

36. More Residential Programs Replace Old Toilets with ULFTs • Implement a program to replace high-water using toilets with 1.6 gallons per flush models or new higher efficiency toilets at 1.28 gallons per flush Retrofit High-Efficiency Washers • Provide rebate to encourage purchase of high-efficiency clothes washing machines • New national standard taking effect in 2007

37. Program Economies of Scale Monthly Program Activity March April May June Cumulative ULF toilets distributed 4,285 9,550 13,929 20,423 Cumulative cost per ULF toilet: 1. Program design, development, marketing & mgmt. support $85.26 $45.57 $37.64 $30.60 2. Payment to community-based distribution organization 20.63 19.01 20.97 21.49 3. Payment for recycling old toilet 7.94 6.19 7.13 6.00 4. Warehousing cost for ULF toilet inventory 27.58 16.22 13.01 10.70 5. Purchase of toilet and related materials 65.4464.9166.7967.70 Total cumulative unit cost of distributed ULF toilets $206.85 $151.90 $145.54 $136.49 Source: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

38. Large User Programs: Best Value Examine the Commercial, Industrial, Institutional Accounts • Identify and rank customers in each customer class • Retrofit high-flow toilets and clothes washers • Look at high water using processes for possible efficiency improvements • Reduce overall sector water use by 10% of baseline • San Antonio gets 50% of its water savings here

39. Commercial Opportunities • Waterless Urinals • X-ray machines • Cooling Tower Audits and Retrofits • Laundries and Laundromats • Food Service Sector • Pre-rinse spray valves • Dishwashers • Icemakers • Connectionless Food Steamers • Water Broom

40. Industrial Opportunities • Counter-flow washing & rinse systems • Reuse of process water • Recirculation of cooling water • Cooling Tower Audits and Retrofits • Cleaning and Sanitation • Treatment and Use of Blowdown • Pollution Prevention • Water Recycling

41. Large Landscape Examine Large Landscape Accounts • Install separate landscape meter • Assign a yearly or adjusted monthly water budget of <80% ETo • Link water budgets to tariffs • Offer incentives to minimize irrigation needs • For mixed-use meters: offer irrigation surveys to highest 20% of customers

42. Outdoor Solutions • Appropriate landscape design • Soil amendments and mulching • Weather-based irrigation controllers • Fix leaking irrigation systems • Drip Irrigation • Grey water • Rainwater Harvesting • Recycled water • Water Budgets

43. Use New Technology Et Weather Data For Irrigation Scheduling

44. Monitor Irrigation Performance

45. So….Is Conservation Affordable? • Costs between $0.46 and $1.40 per 1,000 gallons, depending on the program • Most utilities paying more than $1.40 per 1,000 gallons to develop NEWsupply • Conservation should be automatic where the utility’s avoided cost of water is HIGHER than the unit cost of conserved water • Conservation should be capitalized like supply to reduce rate impacts • Remember: revenue loss from conservation can be AVOIDED with planning!

46. Alliance Model PLANNING MODEL FOR CONSERVATION • Mechanism for tracking long-term savings • Metric units • Fully customizable for your utility • Ties into existing and available models • Understandable graphic outputs for your managers, board members, and customers • Beta testing begins in March, 2009