WHAT RUNS WATER EFFICIENCY: Lessons Learned from Water Conservation Leaders INTRODUCTION California is entering year four of its worst drought in recorded history. While California has historically dealt with water scarcity issues, some experts estimate that the state has only about one year of water supply left. Governor Brown just yesterday called for the first statewide mandatory water use restrictions in U.S. history in order to curb domestic water use. This project was prepared in collaboration with the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability to study what factors make areas leaders in water efficiency. Through reviewing the literature on water conservation policy and performing three case studies on areas with low per capita water (San Francisco, California, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Sydney, Australia) this research identifies factors both within and outside of agency control that help determine the water efficiency of a region. These findings will be formulated into recommendations for how city-owned water utilities in Los Angeles County can structure policy to yield the greatest savings in water consumption.
EXAMPLES
FACTORS
METHODOLOGY To evaluate the conditions that make areas leaders in water efficiency, this project analyzes three factors that may affect an area’s conservation practices: state laws, local ordinances, and water pricing schemes. The chart to the left describes the aspects of each in further detail and elaborates on how each factor may affect water use. This project first examines urban water management plans to get an overview of each area’s management practices. Next, affiliates with each local water agency or management firm are interviewed to confirm and elaborate upon information that has already been gathered as well as to gauge the political climate of water management in the area. Additional resources such as academic studies on the agency, newspaper articles and press releases, and local community-based organizations were also utilized to round out each case study.
State Laws
EFFECTS
◊ Executive Orders to preserve water in times of drought
◊ Declarations can often be more for political clout than for conservation
◊ Legislation that outlines goals for local governments
◊ Lofty goals, minimal guidance
◊ Legislation that enables/ prevents pricing schemes
Local Ordinances
◊ Inability to implement conservation pricing schemes
◊ Goals for reduction in water consumption from baseline ◊ Landscaping ordinances/ outdoor water use restrictions ◊ Voluntary measures and altruism campaigns
Pricing Schemes
◊ Higher water pricing to induce price elasticity of demand ◊ Incrementally increasing water price with quantity used
◊ Generates local action to reduce water use ◊ Depends on phasing speed and aggressiveness of policies
◊ Pricing schemes yielded greatest water use savings of all factors across many studies ◊ Equity concerns can be addressed using water budgets that allow necessity water use at reasonable cost
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS SAN FRANCISCO 82 GPCD (2014)
SANTA FE 101 GPCD (2013)
◊ Offer incentive programs to retrofit fixtures in both residential and non-residential buildings
◊ Seasonal increasing block water pricing; water is most expensive of any city in U.S. (over double the price 2nd highest)
◊ Restructured water rates to utilize water budgets after California State Law was clarified
◊ Requires turf on all sports fields and golf courses installed after 2003
◊ Utilize landscape grant awards to replace inefficient irrigation systems and install drought-tolerant landscaping ◊ Winner of “water sense” award from U.S. EPA for public outreach and education in 2013
◊ Prohibits using water to wash sidewalks, driveways, walls, etc. ◊ Requires swimming pool covers when not in use ◊ Newspaper publishes names of largest water users annually
SYDNEY 81 GPCD (2013) ◊ “PlumbAssist” program helps customers who are experiencing financial hardship to address problems with high water use through a case-specific plumbing program ◊ Offers extensive education and outreach programs including free tours of facilities and other information on Sydney’s intricate urban water system ◊ Very reactive water leak response and prevention program ◊ Ingrained cultural understanding of the urgency of water scarcity
MURP CANDIDATE: ALYSSA NETTO FACULTY ADVISOR: DR. STEPHANIE PINCETL CLIENT: LOS ANGELES REGIONAL COLLABORATIVE FOR CLIMATE ACTION & SUSTAINABILITY What Runs Water Efficiency.indd 1
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