July 23, 2009July 23, 2009July 23, 2009
ConservationOutdoor Usage
Challenge
ConservationOutdoor Usage
Challenge
Rates Advisory Committee
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July 23, 2009
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Topics• Drought Management vs. Conservation• Recent GPCD Trends• New Home Trends & Irrigation• Solutions
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July 23, 2009
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Drought = Mandatory Demand ReductionsDrought demand management is:– In response to special
conditions to obtain immediate cut-back
– Primarily targets discretionary usage
– Mandatory– Staged to reflect severity of
situation– Often inconvenient for
customers– Temporary
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July 23, 2009
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Conservation = Continuous Improvement• Conservation is:
– Set in place to meet long-term water management goals
– Targets all water users– Year-round– Measures begin as
voluntary (can become rules over time)
– Often provides improvements in quality of life
– Requires innovation, analysis, evaluation, and change
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July 23, 2009
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GPCD Trends:Why more extreme swings recently?
50
70
90
110
130
150
170
190
210
230
250
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
GPC
D
225
115
139
Gal
lons
Per
Cap
ita p
er D
ay
106110N/ALow
132
N/A
1998
116
122
2005 2009 Proposed
116Normal
126High
Where was increase in consumption between 2007 and 2008?
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July 23, 2009
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2007 to 2008 Consumption Increases
• Residential increased 23.9%• General increased 5.9%• All Classes increased 18.8%
33,026
19,166 20,296
49,511
58,828
26,651
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
2007 2008
Mill
ions
of G
allo
ns
Residential General ALL CLASSES
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July 23, 2009
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2007 Water Consumptions
Total 2007 Consumption (All Classes): 49.5 Billion Gallons
1,660 1,645 1,667 1,6911,557
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Jun '07 Jul '07 Aug '07 Sep '07 Oth.Months
Avg.M
illio
ns o
f Gal
lons
General
11796
86120
93203
267166174
203
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Jun '07 Jul '07 Aug '07 Sep '07 Oth.Months
Avg.
Mill
ions
of
Gal
lons
Res. Block 1 Res. Block 2
Res. Block 3 Res. Block 4
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July 23, 2009
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2008 Water Consumptions
Total 2008 Consumption (All Classes): 58.8 Billion Gallons
335 352
216164
135
576712
245
286
412
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Jun '08 Jul '08 Aug '08 Sep '08 Oth.Months
Avg.
Mill
ion
s of
Gal
lons
Res. Block 1 Res. Block 2
Res. Block 3 Res. Block 4
1,6131,7821,813
1,8761,890
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Ju n '08 Jul '08 Aug '08 Sep '08 Oth.M onths
Avg.M
illio
ns o
f Gal
lons
General
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July 23, 2009
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2007 Water Consumptions (acre-feet)
Total 2007 Consumption (All Classes): 151,910 AF
5,095 5,049 5,115 5,1904,779
-
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
Jun '07 Jul '07 Aug '07 Sep '07 Oth. MonthsAvg.
Acr
e-Fe
et
General Class
286370
264295
360 622820
508534
624
-
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
Jun '07 Jul '07 Aug '07 Sep '07 Oth.Months
Avg.
Acr
e-Fe
et
Res. Block 1 Res. Block 2
Res. Block 3 Res. Block 4
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2008 Water Consumptions (acre-feet)
Total 2008 Consumption (All Classes): 180,451 AF
5,799 5,757 5,565 5,4704,949
-
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
Jun '08 Jul '08 Aug '08 Sep '08 Oth. MonthsAvg.
Acr
e-F
eet
General Class
1,029 1,079
663505
413
1,769 2,185
1,263
878753
-
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
Jun '08 Jul '08 Aug '08 Sep '08 Oth.Months
Avg.
Acr
e-Fe
et
Res. Block 1 Res. Block 2
Res. Block 3 Res. Block 4
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Consumption Patterns• During dry years more water is sold for
outdoor irrigation– Through irrigation meters– Through residential meters; especially in 3rd
and 4th block• Even in very wet months there is still
discretionary consumption in the top two blocks residential
• How much does this matter? Is it significant?
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Reduction of 10% • 2007 Reduction of 10% in 3rd and 4th
block usage would have resulted in:– 359.7 million gallons– 1,103.9 acre feet
• 2008 Reduction of 10% in 3rd and 4th block usage would have resulted in:– 609.3 million gallons– 1,869.9 acre feet
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Why This Pattern Now?• Irrigation systems make it easy to use a lot of
water very quickly– An average irrigation cycle uses 2,000 gallons each
time it is run• Irrigation twice per week can negate all savings
gained from the most efficient fixtures available• San Antonio is not alone: trend with irrigation
even worse in other cities– New homes with irrigation have been shown to use
more water than older homes even when lot sizes are smaller on new homes.
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Solutions?• There is no silver bullet answer:
– Home owners often over-water WaterSaver/xeriscapelandscapes
– “Smart” irrigation controllers are too generous in water application
• We need to motivate a change in irrigation settings– Even at 4th block rates it costs only about $10 to run
an irrigation cycle for 2000 gallons• How to motivate change?
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Outdoor Water Usage ProgramsThree Parts to Strategy:
1. Education & Outreach– Events, Workshops, E-Newsletter, Free
Landscape Consultations, Irrigation Consultations, Master Gardener/ Botanical Gardens partnership, Media Campaigns
2. Reasonable Regulation– Drought tolerant turf, soil under turf, irrigation
quality standards, water waste prohibition, watering hours
3. Financial Incentives: rebates & rates
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Financial Incentives; Outdoor• Rebates
– For landscape/irrigation design that may save water• Have learned to hold back full rebate until customer
demonstrates savings from appropriate irrigation habits
• Rates– Underscore need to move to better design– Motivate customers to move to more appropriate
irrigation schedule– Need more to pay attention to what they water, when
and why• Example; nearly all customers water all parts of the yard with
irrigation when only part of it needs it
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Concluding RemarksOptions rejected during water supply planning to cope with increased irrigation usage:
A. Obtain even more water supply at high costB. Regulate outdoor usage heavily all of the time
Option Proposed:1. Increase customer education and incentives to
change landscapes and watering habits2. Increase other conservation strategies in other
sectors to maximize other permanent savings3. Have rates that encourage WaterSaver landscapes
that need less irrigation
July 23, 2009July 23, 2009July 23, 2009
ConservationOutdoor Usage
Challenge
ConservationOutdoor Usage
Challenge
Rates Advisory Committee
Page 19
July 23, 2009
Rates Advisory CommitteeRates Advisory Committee
History of Conservation
May1992
San Antonio City Council creates the San Antonio Water System through consolidation of the City Water Board, the City Wastewater Department, and the Alamo Water Conservation and Reuse District.
Conservation department strategically located in the Planning and Water Resources department to emphasize water conservation as a viable method of addressing water resource challenges.
1991
Sierra Club files a lawsuit against the Department of Interior alleging violations of the Endangered Species Act at San Marcos and Comal Springs.
Nov1993
Jun1994
SAWS adopts its first Conservation and Reuse Plan.
Nov1994
City Council approves a residential water rate structure that encourages conservation and establishes dedicated funding for water conservation programs.
SAWS institutes its first direct program: Plumbers to People. This program provides leak repair services to low-income households.
1996
SAWS Community Conservation Committee (CCC) is established. This advisory group provides staff and the Board of Trustees with citizen feedback on conservation policies and programs.
1997
SAWS holds the first WaterSaver Awards, recognizing local companies who have taken a leadership role in water conservation efforts.
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History of Conservation
Mar1998
Jan1998
Oct1998
Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) appoints SAWS representative to the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group (Region L). Region L is one of 16 regional planning groups in Texas, tasked with the development of a 50-year water plan for inclusion in the state water plan.
Jan2001
Dec2001
San Antonio City Council approves a fee on all commercial water accounts in support of commercial conservation programs.
SAWS Board of Trustees approves the first Water Resource Plan, titled “Securing our Water Future Together.” This plan identified methods for meeting future water needs through diversification of our water resources.
Water use reduction goals established in the 1993 Conservation and Reuse Plan for 2008 are achieved a full 7 years in advance.
With input from Region L and regional planning groups throughout the state, TWDB adopts the first state water plan. In this plan, the San Antonio region is the only area in the state that adopts “advanced conservation” as a significant resource option.
Jan2002
SAWS per capita consumption drops to 143 gallons per person per day.
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History of Conservation
August20052005 2006
SAWS Board of Trustees approves an updated Water Resource Plan that establishes even more aggressive water use reduction goals: SAWS will reduce normal-year per capita consumption to 116 gallons per person per day by 2016.
Jan2007
San Antonio City Council approves a comprehensive water conservation ordinance with the full support of all stakeholders affected by the provisions, including homeowners, the irrigation industry, and developers.
SAWS celebrates the 10th
anniversary of the Community Conservation Committee.
San Antonio City Council approves updates to the drought management provisions of the water conservation ordinance.
2008 2009
Mission Verde – City ordinance requirement for WaterSaver fixtures in new construction. This will require HET toilets, efficient faucets, showerheads and urinals in all new construction starting 2010. Also limits total size of irrigation for residential and requires annual irrigation maintenance checks on large properties or those that use over one million gallons of water for irrigation.
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