Aurora Water Conservation 2014 Annual Report Promoting the efficient use of Aurora s water through the education of our customers.
Contents Letter 1 2014 Highlights 2 Goal-Oriented Conservation 3 Cost-Benefit Comparison 4 Letter from Aurora Water Conservation 2014 was another great year for Aurora Water Conservation. Our staff worked hard all year to enhance our programs to help our customers save even more water and it showed. Not only did we continue many of our ongoing programs, but we introduced many new ones promoting water efficiency across all of our customer classes. We continued to listen to feedback from you, our customers, to help provide more options and education. We hope to build on this in 2015 and we look forward to hearing from you in the future! Please continue to let Aurora Water Conservation know how we can help you reduce your water bill and become smarter in your water use. Charting the Path to Efficiency Knowledge is Conservation Power 5 6 Thank you, Lyle Whitney Water Conservation Supervisor A Foundation of Efficiency 7 Built-in Conservation 8 Program and Incentive Participation by Ward 9 1
2014 Highlights Aurora Water introduced innovative Zero Water Use Zones, or Z-Zones, for common spaces and large developments, and Single-Family Tap Fee options incentivizing builders to install xeriscape in new development. In a pilot program, Conservation expanded outreach to the underserved Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) sector by promoting services to the business community, targeting the top 150 users in the sector, starting a government building audit project and creating a partnership with Aurora Public Schools. Adult education opportunities grew with 5 new class options: DIY Xeriscape Design, Spring and Fall Garden Maintenance, Discover Xeric Plants and Wildscaping 101 presented by Audubon of the Rockies. With development rebounding, Irrigation Plans Review saw an increase of 53% in projects submitted and 91% in total sheets reviewed. The Indoor Water Audit program broadened its reach by offering residents audits in Spanish. Conservation freed Water Smart Readers from junk drawers by changing to a rental model and initiating a buy-back program for these water use tracking tools. Commercial and Large Properties participating in Conservation s Watering Variance Program had access to online updates throughout the season, letting them track their to-date use and how much of their annual allocations they had used. Xeriscape rebates saw a higher portion of homeowners tackling wasteful tree lawns with high quality, aesthetic and low-water use xeriscape. 2
Goal-Oriented Conservation This year, Aurora Water Conservation (Conservation) will submit its Water Efficiency Plan to the Colorado Water Conservation Board to help inform statewide conservation efforts and water resource forecasting. Through existing programs and incentives, Aurora has already decreased gallons per capita per day (gpcd) use by 35% from pre-2002 drought levels. Conservation projects an additional 10% reduction in gpcd by 2040. Conservation established seven benchmarks to direct efforts to meet this reduction goal: 1. Give customers tools to evaluate their own use and make efficiency improvements through fixture replacement or changes in usage patterns. 2. Expand the youth education program to include tailored classes for each grade level, including higher education, that convey the importance of water conservation, stewardship and pollution prevention. 3. Make conservation education actionable with incentives and audits. 4. Respond to drought in a quick and effective manner. 5. Influence market transition towards more efficient fixtures and practices, accelerating change beyond local, state and federal codes. 6. Support local ordinances that promote water conservation through collaborations with other departments. 7. Partner with CII customers to create and meet benchmarks through tailored water efficiency programs. During the process of creating this annual report, Conservation staff used the benchmarks to evaluate, analyze and direct changes in all programs and incentives. Beyond basic water use reductions, Conservation considers cost-benefit comparisons, consumption efficiency and customer satisfaction to determine whether existing efforts satisfy our outlined goals for the next seven years. 2014 Water Conservation Programs Savings (thousand gallons) Indoor 17,245 Outdoor 51,916 Total 69,161 3
*Savings estimates throughout the annual report come from tracking changes in participants water use. Consumption changes are not just influenced by Conservation s efforts, but also by a variety of external factors such as the perception of weather conditions, youth education programs and regional media outreach. Projections in this report demonstrate the effects of Conservation programs and incentives but cannot be attributed to those effects alone. **Due to a unique estimation methodology, savings from the outdoor SIP pilot are not included; initial calculations show outdoor SIP saved approximately 15 million gallons. Other programs and incentives have been omitted due to only indirect involvement with Conservation and/ or incomplete consumption data before participation, most notably in new development. These include: Online Calculator, Landscape Permits, Z-zones, Single-family Tap Fee Credit and Leak Repair. 4
Charting the Path to Efficiency Audits Conservation achieves its mission of promoting the efficient use of Aurora s water through assistance and incentives that empower customers to fulfill their own conservation goals. Conservation s Indoor and Outdoor Audit Programs, coupled with Water Smart Reader (WSR) rentals, provide an in-depth look at a [My auditor] Claudia came by my home the next day to check with me to make sure everything was okay with my pool and the neighbor s yard. Now that is amazing service and customer care. property s water use. To foster more self-assessment, customers can now rent instead of purchase WSR s to cut down the cost of these water use tracking and leak detection devices, essentially making them free to use. Responding to customer feedback, Conservation offered indoor audits in Spanish in 2014 and will start including quantifiable savings on daily indoor use, as well as how a customer s use compares to the average and efficient levels for properties with the same characteristics in 2015. Conservation is also exploring tablet technology for its indoor and outdoor audit processes to provide instant reports that are tailored specifically for customers water use profiles. SIP The System Incentive Program (SIP), piloted in 2014, targeted the most inefficient residential users as determined by lot size. Each contacted customer had a Conservation staff member assigned as a single point of contact to arrange in person and online water use evaluations that yielded suggested efficiency upgrades based on cost-effectiveness. CII While residential properties have regularly utilized Conservation s technical assistance and incentives, the Commercial, Industrial and Institutional (CII) sector has been less active participating in these programs. In response, Conservation began a pilot that provided cost-effective efficiency upgrade plans to targeted CII customers. Outreach focused on offering indoor and outdoor audits to the top 150 CII customers. The pilot will become a proactive program in 2015 and include many options, such as pre-rinse spray valve retrofits. Conservation has also started auditing all Aurora municipal facilities to ensure the city practices the highest level of efficiency. Watering Variance In 2014 the Watering Variance Program gave large property managers, such as HOA s, enhanced water budget management capabilities with access to monthly allocation adjustments based on weather data as well as an online tool letting participants review their to-date performance. Allocations for participants will become more precise in 2015 with different volumes of water assigned to various landscape types. Targeted Technical Assistance Quantity Single and Multifamily Water Audits 273 Single Family Leak Repair Assistance (customers) 355 Residential Irrigation Audits 211 Large Property Irrigation Audits 24 Car Wash Certification 0 Water Variance Program (participants) 149 Water Smart Reader (rentals) 35 System Incentive 339 5
Toilet Rebate Beyond assessing current water use, Conservation helps reduce the financial Toilet Rebate Changes 2014 2015 barriers that may inhibit customers from making Ultra-high efficiency (1.0 gpf or less) $150 $150 recommended changes. In 2014, a notable decrease in toilet rebates applications was noted. High efficiency (1.28 gpf) $75 $25 This decrease was attributed to a high level of participation in our rebates and the increased use of low-flow toilets over the past decade. This success story resulted a reexamination on the rebate program s need and direction. For 2015, the Toilet Rebate Program will focus exclusively on Ultra-High Efficiency Toilets. LIWEP The Low Income Water Efficiency Program will continue to offer income qualifying residents free high efficiency toilet models, showerheads, and aerators installed by the Mile High Youth Corps, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. Outdoor Rebates The Irrigation Rebate Program gave increased rebates for various parts in 2014 yet did not see receive more applications. The program looks to boost participation by offering rain sensor rebates without the normally required outdoor audit. Program administrators will also be performing an in-depth case study on the effects of weather based controllers to help direct rebate policies in the future. Both irrigation and xeriscape rebates will be transitioning to online applications in 2015 to help make processing easier and faster for customers. Targeted Incentives Quantity Single Family Xeriscape Rebate 20 Large Property Xeriscape Rebate 1 Irrigation Rebate 29 Toilet Rebate 806 Low Income Water Efficiency Rebate 45 Knowledge is Conservation Power Youth Education Conservation s educational opportunities provide knowledge and skills that encourage citizens to become conservation advocates in both their community and personal lives. Water awareness starts early through one of the region s oldest, most comprehensive and consistent youth education programs. Conservation s classroom presentations and the 21st annual Youth Water Festival brought students creative, impactful and grade specific information that conveys the importance of water stewardship, conservation and pollution prevention. Beyond direct student interaction, Conservation and Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space helped make water stewards out of teachers with the annual Forest to Thank you to everyone who puts on the Aurora Youth Water Festival! This is such a great opportunity thank you for making it FREE even better!!! Faucets professional development seminar. Over the course of three days teachers explore topics such as water treatment and watershed health. The youth education program continued its innovative outreach in 2014 by helping develop the Water Theater Ensemble Project. This project is a collaboration between Aurora Water, Denver Water, Boulder Water, Metro State University s (MSU) Theater Department and the One World, One Water Program at MSU. Together this group created a live theater presentation for 5th 6
and 6th graders about the water cycle, precipitation patterns, the value of water and how to take action. As part of the full semester class, MSU students will perform at regional water festivals and at partner city schools. Residential Education Aurora s residents also took advantage of a broader scope of educational resources this year. Adult class additions included DIY Xeriscape Design, Spring and Fall Garden Maintenance and an interactive Discover Xeric Plants class, which will branch into a separate Xeric Trees class in 2015. After learning about xeriscape concepts in classes, free landscape design consultations helped residents apply that knowledge at home I have wanted to do this for some time, but didn't even know how to describe what I wanted to do. This class answered my questions, gave me inspiration and direction. Thank you!! I loved, loved this class. to replace high water turf with low water alternatives. Residents also enjoyed renovations to the H2O Tracker App (Apple and Android) including more user friendly layouts, expanded resource options and user profiles that offer property specific conservation recommendations similar to those available on the online conservation calculator. Contractor Training Landscapers and developers participated in the Water-Smart Contractor Training class that establishes communication and cooperation between the city and private businesses regarding water efficient large scale planning and design. Moving forward, the class will focus more on landscape installation and maintenance to ensure best management practices are implemented for the benefit of homeowners. Volunteers Conservation s commitment to promoting xeriscape as an essential and attractive component of Aurora s landscape gained ground in 2014 through multi-pronged, community-oriented outreach. Conservation s Xeriscape Demonstration Garden remained the centerpiece of these efforts with the help of volunteers from Serenity School, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, Eagle Scouts and dedicated citizens. More volunteers are expected in 2015 with the integration of garden education and training on volunteer days. Education Activities Quantity Youth Education (students) 10,113 Excellence in Xeriscape Award (winners) 1 Forest to Faucets (participants) 27 Adult Education (participants) 448 Xeriscape Volunteer Program (hours) 1,042 Conservation Calculator (participants) 45 One-on-One Design Consultations (participants) 49 H2O Outdoors (students) 0 Community Gardens Program (gardens) 22 Water-Smart Landscape Contractor Training (participants) 47 H2O Tracker Smartphone App (new members) 308 Youth Water Festival (students) 1,730 7
A Foundation of Efficiency In a growing city, Aurora Water recognizes the need to proactively address the increased demand of tomorrow s Aurora. To help meet future development s needs, Aurora Water created financial incentivizes in 2014 to incorporate conservation in the design and construction of new development. The Zero Water Use Zone (Z-Zone) Program lets large property builders use a temporary irrigation tap to establish plant material that will not require permanent irrigation once mature. By choosing to replace areas with nowater use xeric landscaping, developers can pay a small installation fee and avoid a substantial tap fee based on cost per square foot of landscape. Staff will monitor the progress of Z-Zones over a three-year establishment period and will help properties decide whether to remove the tap, extend the establishment period or be charged the full amount of a normal tap fee for continued irrigation. Similar to Z-Zones guiding the design of large properties, the Single-Family Tap Fee Credit, adopted at the end of the 2014 construction season, will incentivize developers to choose water wise landscaping instead of turf. Developers that install 100% xeric landscaping in the front yard of new single-family builds will receive a $1,000 credit on the property s tap fee. Foundational Activities Quantity Z-Zone (properties) 6 Single Family Tap Fee Credit (properties) 0 Built-in Conservation Aurora s codes and ordinances ensure efficiency from construction to daily water use. Development in Aurora showed strong gains in 2014, as seen by a 53% increase in irrigation plans reviews. Starting in 2015, developers will experience a more streamlined process as landscape permits are included in a package of other new building permits administered by Aurora s Permit Office. Conservation field staff will remain in direct communication with contractors for rapid inspection of new landscape installation. With the support of local professionals and community groups, Conservation will also seek efficiency modifications in non-residential irrigation code in 2015 including requirements for master valves (helping mitigate leak and break issues) and drip irrigation for all areas less than five feet in width. Ordinances and Regulations Quantity Landscape Permits (rain sensors, soil amendment and irrigation permits) 1,212 Water Management Plan (contacts) 541 8
Program and Incentive Participation by Ward Aurora Water strives to promote conservation and provide incentives to customers across the city. As seen in the charts below, Aurora has interactions in every ward with some wards receiving more rebates, audits, or participants. *A single instance of participation in a Conservation program or incentive, i.e. student, homeowner, permit, rebate recipient, etc. ** No ward indicates a customer s location could not be found from the information provided. 9
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Aurora Water Conservation 15151 E. Alameda Pkwy. Suite 3228 Aurora, CO 80012 303-739-7195 aurorawater.org