Water Conservation

Date: June 3rd, 2009

California is experiencing a third year of below average rainfall and reduced Sierra snowpack. A Level 2 drought has been declared for some areas of Southern California. Water deliveries to local water agencies have been cut back by the Metropolitan Water District. Local water agencies are implementing plans to encourage customers to conserve.

Some plans involve new tiered water rates which allow "frugal" water users to benefit from lower rates. For example, a domestic user with a 5/8" meter using up to 8 HCF or 6,000 gallons per month would have the lowest rate. A similar user using 25 HCF per month would have a substantially higher rate.

Other plans base rates on an individual "water budget" or allocation which is determined by prior usage. One example is allocating 85% of the average usage by the customer location for the past 2 years. Other factors are considered so that customers who have previously conserved are not penalized and "water wasters" are not allocated more water than average users. Some allocation plans keep over/under allocation balances and apply penalties and credits each billing period. The rates and allocations may be based on user classification (domestic, agricultural, etc.), meter size, acreage and other factors.

The software needed to allocate, monitor and report usage to the district staff and the customer is complex. There are many rules and conditions, some imposed by outside agencies and others developed locally to address a unique customer base. For example, there are currently two plans for agriculture allocation in San Diego County, namely the Metropolitan Water District's IAWP and the San Diego County Water Authority's SAWR. The rules for notification, certification, billing, and tracking are programmed into the system.

Datastream is providing its clients custom software for drought rate structures and allocation plans. The software allows the agency staff to implement the rates and allocations set forth by district policy. This implementation is a highly integrated effort by Datastream and agency staff.

Hopefully, the drought will not continue into a fourth year. We encourage everyone to make an effort to conserve our precious water resources. For conservation tips, please contact your water provider. Tips can also be obtained from the Metropolitan Water District at http://www.mwdh2o.com/mwdh2o/pages/yourwater/WaterAlert/
or the San Diego County Water Authority at http://www.sdcwa.org/manage/conservation.phtml.