This chapter presents a sampling of programs throughout the Nation that use one or more water conservation and use efficiency practices. It is important to note that the information in the table and in the examples is provided to illustrate the water savings that can be achieved by using a conservation and use efficiency practice or combining a mixture of practices.
Many other practices and programs could be cited as well (such as the State of Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, and the City of Denver, Colorado; City of Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California) Also note that the information presented is dated material obtained from published reports and might have changed since the date of original publication. Since 1989, Tampa’s water efficiency program has included code changes, revised rate structures, retrofit, promotion of xeriscape landscaping, and education.
Within the first 9 months, consumption was reduced from 84. 6 million gallons to 72. 5 million gallons during the dry months of March through June, a 15-18 percent reduction in demand. The average reduction for the year was 7 percent. Tampa has adopted an increasing-block rate structure, irrigation restrictions, landscape codes, and ultra-low-volume plumbing requirements. Voluntary xeriscape programs advocate corporate landscape conversions and state-of-the-art irrigation and landscape design for new construction.
In December 1989, water-saving kits were delivered to about 10,000 Tampa homes. The kits included two toilet tank dams, two low-flow showerheads, two lavatory faucet aerators, some Teflon tape, a pamphlet on finding and fixing leaks with a general “water-saving tips” card, an installation instruction folder (with a letter from the mayor encouraging participation, and instructions in both Spanish and English), a window display card, and leak detection dye tablets. These materials were packed in a clear plastic bag and hung on the doorknobs of residences.
Ninety-four percent of homeowners receiving the kits installed the devices. The kits were estimated to save 7-10 gallons of water per person per day. Tampa estimates that when all the homes in Tampa are similarly retrofitted, more than 2. 1 million gallons of water per day will be saved. Educational efforts in Tampa focus on schools. A number of contests have been conducted. Winning poster and limerick entries are compiled into a water conservation calendar, which is then distributed to the general public.
Additional efforts in Tampa include a pilot awareness campaign, an expanded retrofit program, toilet-replacement incentive projects including a rebate program, implementation of water checkups for large residential water users, and enhanced in-school curriculum-based education (RMI, 1991). South Florida Water Management District In 1992, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD, which includes Palm Beach, Dade County, Florida) joined the St. Johns River Water Management District (in northeast Florida) and Southwest Florida Water Management District (Tampa, Sarasota, etc. n sponsoring a statewide mass-media conservation campaign that urges residents to conserve water and use it wisely.
The campaign features public service spots that urge residents to use xeriscaping and offers other water-saving tips. Educational brochures and how-to guides, an informative video on how to xeriscape a typical Florida yard, and a quarterly newsletter were all produced to support this educational effort. The SFWMD’s Six-Point Conservation Policy appeals to local governments to adopt conservation measures.
The policy advocates the adoption of local xeriscape ordinances, leak detection programs, ordinances that encourage the residential and business use of low-volume plumbing, rate structures that reward conservation and reduced use, comprehensive public education programs, and daytime irrigation bans. In other programs, the SFWMD offers technical assistance to cities and counties in implementing rain switch ordinances (which require automatic sprinklers to be turned off during rain storms) and water reuse systems, and the district is supporting a statewide Compost Utilization Project.
The SFWMD is also a sponsoring member of the state’s Xeriscape/Water Wise Council Steering Committee, formed to help implement the state’s Xeriscape Law, passed in 1991. Through conservation partnerships formed in 1992, the SFWMD assisted the Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Lee county governments in developing daytime irrigation ordinances, and it is urging other counties to adopt daytime irrigation bans (Kirchhoff and Nicholas, 1993).
The State Department of Water Resources provides general information and offers technical assistance with water conservation practices to all local water agencies in California. Agricultural irrigation is the largest water use problem in California, and the Department focuses on agricultural as well as urban water use efficiency programs. The urban program includes the following practices: leak detection, water-efficient landscaping, conservation information, public education, urban water management planning assistance, industrial water conservation planning, and water recycling.
The agricultural program includes the following practices: drainage reduction, mobile laboratory program for on-farm irrigation system evaluations, the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS), and agricultural water management planning assistance (Keith Watkins, California State Department of Water Resources, Office of Water Conservation, February 9, 1994, personal communication). The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has implemented a comprehensive water efficiency plan to address water use by individual households, businesses, and industries.
To limit outdoor water use, L. A. offers a landscape water management program, a water conservation garden contest, an annual spring garden exposition, demonstration gardens, weather network stations, a residential irrigation pilot program, a large-turf water curtailment program, xeriscape requirements for new construction, and production and distribution of lawn-watering guides. L. A. has water conservation advisory committees, business and industry bulletins and brochures, a free meter loan program, a school incentive program, and an annual business and industry symposium offering awards for excellence in water management.
The city also coordinates various conservation efforts with other county and state water agencies. L. A. ‘s residential program includes an ultra low-flush toilet rebate program, home water surveys, and low-interest conservation loans. The educational agenda includes advertising, a water awareness month, water inserts sent out with water bills, exhibits, a speaker’s bureau, and school education programs. A city ordinance mandates the installation of low-flow showerheads (3. 0 gallons per minute or less) and toilet tank displacement devices.
These fixtures are available free to residential customers; there is a charge to commercial users. The L. A. Department of Water and Power has spent $5 million (1990 dollars) thus far on the purchase and distribution of 1. 3 million showerheads and 1. 8 million toilet bags. The program resulted in a 4 percent reduction in water consumption between 1987 and 1990. L. A. has also adopted a seasonal pricing structure under which water is priced at a higher rate during the summer months.
The city hopes to limit the annual growth in sewage flows to 7 Mgal/d and to reduce overall water consumption by 10 percent by 1995 and 15 percent by the year 2000 (RMI, 1991). In 1986, the City of San Jose Office of Environmental Management (OEM) set a 10-year goal of reducing the City’s wastewater flow by 10 percent, a reduction of 12 Mgal/d. The implementation of plumbing codes and retrofit programs each reduced flows by more than 25,000 gpd in 1991.
OEM has an active commercial/industrial flow reduction program that includes technical assistance, integrated energy and water audits, a financial incentives program, I. D. E. A. S. (Innovative Design and Energy Analysis Service program) standards for new commercial and industrial building, and do-it-yourself audit guides (JMM Consulting, 1991). In January 1990, the City of Lompoc, California, declared a water shortage and initiated a voluntary conservation program. The program achieved a 14. 4 percent cumulative reduction for 1990.
The Lompoc city staff conducts a public information program consisting of conservation brochures, displays, the use of local communications media, and classes dealing with water-saving irrigation methods and drought-tolerant planting methods. The city provides water conservation kits (free to low-income households and $5. 00 to all other residents), which include two low-flow showerheads, two toilet tank dams, two toilet leak detection tablets, two faucet aerators, and an installation brochure. The annual operating cost of Lompoc’s program is about $120,000 (1990 dollars).
The 1990 Lompoc City Ordinance 1312(90) declares a water shortage in the city and establishes various restrictions and prohibitions on the use of water, including the following: turf watering between the hours of 10:00 a. m. and 4:00 p. m. , the use of potable water for washing hard surface areas such as driveways and sidewalks, allowing water to flow from plumbing breaks or leaks for more than 8 hours, washing vehicles with hoses that do not have a positive shut-off nozzle, and serving water to restaurant patrons before they request it.
In addition, the water shortage ordinance establishes the mandatory use of ultra-low-flush toilets and urinals in all new commercial, industrial, and public buildings. The 1990 Lompoc City Ordinance 1319(90) provides for the use of gray water (used water from clothes washers, bathtubs, showers, and bathroom sinks) for irrigation of fruit trees, ground cover, and ornamental trees and shrubs, but not for irrigating vegetable gardens and lawns or washing off hard surfaces.
It also provides for the use of reclaimed water for dust control and compaction at construction sites, under limited conditions. The 1990 Lompoc City Ordinance 1334(90) establishes the one-to-one “zero impact” retrofit condition for new development in the city. Under this ordinance a developer has the option to either (1) carry out a retrofit program of existing housing, resulting in a zero projected net increase in water consumption resulting from the new construction or (2) pay an “in-lieu” fee to the city.
Funds from such fees are then directed to the city’s retrofit rebate program. The 1990 Lompoc City Ordinance 4000(90) sets guidelines for the city’s retrofit rebate program. Under this program, revenues from the “in-lieu” fees are used to fund a city-run retrofit/rebate program for showerheads, kitchen and bathroom sinks, and toilets (NEOS Corporation, 1990). Since October 1, 1990, Connecticut law has required standards for water-efficient fixtures manufactured and sold in the state. Showerheads must use less than 2. allons per minute; urinals, 1. 0 gallon per flush; faucets, 2. 5 gallons per minute; and toilets, 1. 6 gallons per flush. The state has also organized a retrofit program that requires all water distributors to give away free water-efficiency kits. Each kit contains one low-flow showerhead, two faucet aerators, one pair of toilet tank dams, one package of toilet leak detection tablets, and written information. The cost of the kits, $6-$7 each, is absorbed by water users through their rates (RMI, 1991).
New York City’s water efficiency program is a comprehensive one. The program includes a survey of all 33. 6 million feet of water mains with computerized sonar leak detection equipment. Areas of the city that are served by wastewater treatment plants are inspected by sonar once every 9 months. All other areas are inspected once every 3 years. The New York City Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection test the benefits of retrofitting with water-efficient fixtures on city buildings.
