Services > Water Budgeting
Utilities successfully implemented water budget-based program have realized:
· Stable Revenue stream
· Decrease in residential water use by 24%
· Decrease in landscape water use by 49%
· Increased customer satisfaction and acceptance for water conservation
· Decreased infrastructure/capacity requirements
· Revenue source for conservation programs funded by inefficient/wasteful users
· Ready to respond to drought emergencies
Water Budget implementation plan should meet the following requirements:
· Commitment, coordination and education at all levels
· Customer acceptance that allocations are fair/equitable
· Required infrastructure (e.g., advanced Customer Information System, GIS, …)
· Sufficient staffing to deal with the initial customer inquiries (request for information, challenging the allocated budgets, request for variance, …)
· Time program implementation during the off peak season
How is Water Budget Calculated?
Water Budget Categories
Indoor Use
· Single Family Home
· Multifamily Homes
· Commercial, Industrial & Institutional
Outdoor - Irrigation/Landscape
Calculation Methods
Method 1
Indoor—Per capita basis – 4 occupants per house (pre and post 1992); Building age
Outdoor Daily Evapotranspiration factors; Measured irrigated area for each parcel (GIS); Swimming pool evaporation losses
Method 2
Indoor—Flat monthly allocation (pre and post 1992); Building age
Outdoor—Daily Evapotranspiration factors; Irrigated area calculated based on lot size multiplied by the community’s average percent of irrigated area
Method 3
Each customer is assigned a water budget equal to the community’s average water consumption for the same month in previous year (s).