Water

Austin, USA

World leader in stopping water leakage

Summary

Austin began its water efficiency program in 1983 in response to increased demand during a housing and commercial boom. Conservation and the enhanced use of reclaimed water (water that is cleaned and serves non-potable purposes) now represent some of the supply strategies to meet the City’s long-term water needs.

What is it?

Currently, the City of Austin offers a variety of programs designed to conserve water. These programs include incentives to install water efficient equipment, services to reduce demand, educational programs and regulatory measures.

Toilet Replacement Program

In 1991, Austin’s plumbing code was changed to require a maximum flush volume of 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) for toilets sold within the City. Two incentive programs, The Free Toilet Program and The Toilet Rebate Program, were developed in 1993 to help customers replace older, water-wasting toilets with new, more efficient models. Both toilet programs require participants to install water-efficient showerheads, provided at no charge by the City.

WashWise Rebate Program

Under this program, residential customers can receive a rebate for purchasing an efficient clothes washer. To be eligible for the rebate, clothes washers must meet Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) Tier 1 standards, under which a washing machine must use no more than 7.5 gallons of water per cubic foot of capacity and have a Modified Energy Factor of 1.8 or greater.

Irrigation System Evaluations

Seasonal landscape watering is the driving factor in the City's peak day water usage. Customers often have a poor understanding of how their irrigation controllers work, have multiple programs or start times that they are unaware of, lack a backup battery in their controller, or have pressure that is too high. This program offers customers free irrigations system audits and periodic distribitons of free rain shut-off devices.

Water Use Management

The City of Austin currently has a Water Use Management ordinance that includes three stages of seasonal water restrictions. Depending on the circumstance, a restriction is implemented and advertised so that customers are aware of it.

1. Stage 1 Restrictions: In effect from May 1st to September 30th, prohibits commercial properties from watering during the day and encourages a voluntary watering schedule for all customers.
2. Stage 2 Restrictions: In effect during times of elevated consumption (typically during the summer); includes mandatory watering days and limits on non-essential outdoor water use.
3. Stage 3 Restrictions: Designed for emergency situations, such as plant or equipment failure.

Rainwater Harvesting System Rebates

Austin Water Utility offers rebates of up to $500 for the installation of large-capacity rainwater harvesting systems. Despite the smaller water-savings potential (an estimated 0.06 MGD since 2001), the rain barrel sales program is very popular, and often serves as a marketing gateway to get customers interested in other water conservation programs.

WaterWise Landscape Rebate Program

Many Austin landscapes include non-native plants and grasses that are ill-adapted to Austin’s climate and homeowners are often unfamiliar with plant water requirements, resulting in excessive irrigation. This program provides incentives (rebates) to homeowners using more than 25,000 gallons per month during the summer to replace turf grass with drought-tolerant native or adapted trees/shrubs, and requires participants to submit a design plan for approval before any materials are purchased.

Commercial Process Improvements

Approximately 35% of all Austin Water Utility water sales are to customers in the Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional (ICI) sectors. ICI customers are eligible for a free system-wide water conservation analysis, including inspection of cooling towers and a review of water use in production processes and cooling systems. The auditor also examines the potential to use alternate sources of water. The City offers commercial customers savings-based rebates of up to $40,000 for the installation of new equipment and re-designing of manufacturing processes that conserve water. Programs qualifying for this rebate must save at least 500 gallons per day and must remain in place for at least five years. Participants must seek pre-approval of the project and agree to a post-installation inspection by City staff to verify installation and operation.

Water Rate Structure

Austin Water Utility implemented a block rate structure for single-family residential water billing in 1994. Currently, the Utility has four usage tiers; as customers use more water, water becomes more expensive to discourage unnecessary use. Water rates for multifamily, commercial and golf course customers do not increase with the volume of water used; however, these customers do have a higher rate in the summer called the ‘peak rate.’

Educational Programs

Austin Water Utility operates two elementary education programs that reach Austin-area children as well as their parents.

Marketing and Outreach Efforts

Currently, the Water Conservation program uses a number of different outlets to reach customers, including inserts in customer utility bills, media advertising, an electronic newsletter, a website and elementary education programs.

Next steps

In 2006, the City of Austin recognized the need for additional conservation and decided to develop extra strategies to meet a City Council goal of reducing water use by 1% a year for ten years. The City established a Water Conservation Task Force to develop cost-effective strategies for more aggressive water conservation. The Task Force has created a package of improvements (21 recommendations) that will amount to peak-day water savings of 32.74 MGD (millions of gallons per day) at an average cost of roughly $1.13 per gallon ($0.30 per liter). The Task Force recommendations represent a significant cost savings for the City of Austin. Austin City Council is expected to vote on the recommendations in the spring of 2007. If these recommendations are implemented, Austin will reduce an additional 9,130 tons of CO2 and save $112.2 million.

New programs are also being proposed:

• Irrigation System Design:
• Car Wash Efficiency Standards:
• Required Submeters for Water Billing
• Reduce Excessive Water Use Due to High Pressure
• Leak Detection
• Reclaimed Water Projects

Application

• Changes to water rates and plumbing and development codes offer the most potential for water savings with the least investment of resources.
• Ordinances governing customer behavior (watering restrictions, etc.) are also valuable with effective enforcement, which may require a greater degree of political commitment in addition to personnel resources.
• Rebate programs, particularly for the retrofit of outdated fixtures and appliances, are relatively easy to implement and can easily be expanded as resources allow.
• Programs involving on-site facility audits for irrigation or commercial processes require a higher level of staff expertise and a greater investment of staff time; however, the higher potential for water savings may make audit programs more attractive in areas with large commercial developments.
• Educational and outreach programs are helpful in generating a “conservation mindset,” but the small behavioral changes they initiate (e.g., turning off faucets while brushing teeth) are difficult to measure.
• Marketing efforts are necessary for alerting customers to mandatory restrictions and informing them of voluntary programs; however, with a little creativity and a good understanding of the customer base, marketing can be done effectively even with minimal resources.