Wholesale Customer & Seattle Water System Conservation Technical Forum (CTF) Meeting Summary July 8, 2014

Transcription

1 Wholesale Customer & Seattle Water System Conservation Technical Forum (CTF) Meeting Summary July 8, 2014 Meeting Notes Prepared by: Kelly O Rourke, Seattle Public Utilities Meeting Location: North City Water District (formerly Shoreline Water District) Attendees: Diane Pottinger, North City Water District Margaret Wiggins, Northshore Utility District Kelly Boswell, Olympic View Water & Sewer District Kelly O Rourke, Billie Fisher, Seattle Public Utilities Stephanie Rake, Water District 20 Debbie Rannfeldt, Woodinville Water District Agenda Additions or Deletions: None. Items for Discussion: 1) Welcome & Introductions Debbie Rannfeldt The meeting opened at 10:10am. The group skipped introductions because the attendees all knew each other and there were no special visitors. 2) Water Refilling Station Kelly O Rourke Kelly handed out copies of the Community Events Wanting SWP Conservation Materials and/or Water Refilling Station table and highlighted the six events that the new Water Refilling Station will be used at this summer. Kelly showed the group pictures of the station in action at the two events completed thus far: May University District Street Fair in Seattle and June 7 Sustainamania event in Bothell. Kelly mentioned that Arece Hampton, who manages this effort, is developing an operating manual that will be provided to wholesale customers explaining everything that is needed to host the station (transporting the station, at-event logistics, sanitation guidelines, FAQ from customers, etc). A draft of the manual will be ready at the end of the summer. The group stated that they want to review and provide comments on the manual. Kelly passed out water bottle stickers and refrigerator magnets that were developed to give to customers at the events and showed the group the vertical banner that is used at events to accompany the water tank. Kelly mentioned there is still capacity for 3 more events in wholesale customer areas. Diane stated that North City Water District would like to use the station at their August 18 Shoreline Days event. That event is on the calendar, but not yet designated for use of the station. Kelly will pass that request on to Arece, who will coordinate with Diane. During discussion of the station, as well as a few other times under other agenda items, several SWP members stated that they prefer to use the term water efficiency rather than water conservation. Kelly will route this request within SPU and determine how to proceed on making that decision for SWP materials. 1

2 3) Annual Reporting Check-in Kelly O Rourke & All a) DOH Water Use Efficiency Rule Kelly reminded the group that July 1 was the deadline to submit their annual Water Use Efficiency Report to DOH, as well as report to their customers (typically done in their CCRs). All SWP members in attendance confirmed that they met the July 1 deadline. b) SWP Annual Report Format Discussion & Decision Kelly led the group in a discussion and decision about the format and content for the SWP Annual Report. SPU recently raised the issue of whether the Annual Report should continue in its present form (Option1) or be reduced to a shorter, more succinct report (Option 2). A few weeks back, Mialee called each SWP member, explained the two options, and asked for their preference. Kelly shared the results of that outreach, which are shown below. Kelly also shared a draft of what Option 2 would look like. Option 1 Designed like last year Prefer = 7 Would be okay = 4 Total = 11 Option2 Shorter, more succinct, less glossy Prefer = 4 Would be okay = 9 Total = 13 The group had a good discussion and made the following decisions: o Go with Option 1, however with a few modifications, as noted below. o Use the previous year s report as a template and only update outdated information (e.g., number of rebates); no need to reinvent the wheel each year. o Delete the measures and strategies table and replace it with program activities table from the Option 2 draft. o The group understands that the water savings table on the front page will be deleted. o Try to get content/pictures from wholesale customers about projects/activities in their service area; the group realizes this is likely not feasible this year due to timing. o The overall reasoning for this decision is that the current format and level of content does a good job of conveying the purpose, importance, and activity level of the conservation program, especially to GMs and commissioners (two of which were represented at this meeting). c) Annual Presentation to Operating Board Kelly let the group know that the CTF chair (Debbie), vice chair (Kelly B.) and SPU have started developing the SWP presentation for the October Operating Board meeting. The meeting is October 2, 2-4pm at Mercer Island. Debbie will be presenting solo, because Kelly B. will be on vacation. Diane suggested it would be useful to have CTF members in the audience to show support for the conservation program. 4) Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) - All a) Share Reports The group shared hard copies of their CCRs. 2

3 Several members mentioned the value of using the CCR as on opportunity to communicate issues important to the utility, beyond just water quality. Examples include infrastructure improvements and community involvement. b) Share Distribution Methods The group discussed distribution methods. The distribution methods vary from mailing hard copies via postal patron to putting a notice on the bill with a website reference. Some members implement, or are moving towards, electronic versions, while others feel their customers want hard copies. Several members mentioned it is less expensive to send to all residents, rather than sending to water utility customers. 5) Working Group Updates Debbie Rannfeldt a) Youth and Community Education Working Group Debbie shared an update prepared by Arece Hampton. Classroom Presentations: The pilot year of classroom presentations is complete with 160 programs reaching 4,068 students at 35 schools for 14 SWP members. Kelly added that SPU and Nature Vision are currently scoping the next phase which will cover the next 18 months (ending Dec 31, 2015) and likely aim to provide twice the number of programs in the school year compared to the school year. Fix-A-Leak Challenge: 10 schools signed up for the challenge. Cherry Hill Elementary of Duvall won, Mara Vista Elementary in Highline was second, and Greenwood Elementary and West Woodland Elementary in Seattle tied for third place. Diane provided details about how North City implemented the Challenge in their service area. She confirmed that North City will continue the Challenge in future years. She suggested the group explore opportunities to engage local media for free promotion; she has a contact at King 5. Kelly added that the SWP Fix-A-Leak Challenge will be replaced with a new class on leaks, which Nature Vision will develop for the next school year. It was difficult to recruit teachers to participate in the Challenge and a class will allow a more comprehensive treatment of leaks. b) Landscape Education Working Group Debbie shared an update prepared by Nota Lucas. Working Group: The Landscape Working Group (LWG) meets approximately once per quarter, or more often as needed. Nota Lucas of SPU staffs the LWG. Current members represent the following utilities; new members are welcome: Woodinville, Olympic View, Renton, Northshore, North City, and Cedar River. Messaging: The group s emphasis is on consistent, seasonal communications via the savingwater.org website, a Facebook Savvy Gardener group, and utility communication vehicles - to customers about sustainable landscape practices, particularly the efficient use of water. This encourages stewardship of resources and supports customer concerns about water bills and the environment. Savvy Gardener Classes: Due to dwindling participation, classes are now being managed by individual utilities who wish to host classes, with SWP paying for the speaker fee and providing targeted support. A preparation packet, including templates of all pertinent materials, has been sent to LWG members. The deadline for confirming with instructors in order to earmark funds for the remainder of 2014 is August 1. Please contact Nota Lucas if any questions. Diane mentioned that 3

4 North City plants to set up a class. The group mentioned neighborhood websites/blogs, such as MyEdmonds.com, as potential marketing venues for landscaping classes. c) Communication Working Group Debbie shared an update prepared by Mialee Jose. The working group is working on several types of customer surveys, which will give the SWP information on customer attitudes and behaviors. Three types of surveys will be conducted: o Regional survey conducted by King County to be fielded later this year o New annual online survey offered by SWP to be conducted in spring of 2015 and annually thereafter o Program participant surveys A survey is underway for the Multifamily Toilet Rebate Program, and a survey is available for community festival participants as needed. A survey will be developed for the Single Family Toilet Rebate Program in the next quarter. Three questions will be included on the SWP surveys: 1) a question about the importance of water conservation; 2) a question about why customers conserve; and 3) a question about what actions they have taken in the past. Program participant surveys will have additional questions about customer satisfaction with the program they participated in. 6) Savingwater.org Usability Testing Results Kelly O Rourke Kelly gave a summary of the recent user testing of the SavingWater.org website. The purpose was to test if the website is easy to use and to access information. The testing occurred on May 29 and 30 with 8 people having a 45 minute one-on-one session with an SPU IT staffer. The session included 16 questions covering indoor, outdoor, residential, and commercial situations. The sessions resulted in positive and constructive feedback for the site. Positive feedback included the following: o How easy was it to use the site? 3.8 on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being extremely easy o How relevant are the topics on the site? 4.5 on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being extremely irrelevant and 5 being extremely relevant Constructive feedback included the following: o Write for scanners, not readers. The quantity of text made it difficult for users to find information. Reduce the quantity of text. o Users indicated a strong preference for learning by video or by photos with captions. o More detailed suggestions identified by attendees included: make the navigation bar stand out more; on the Rebate page, link to the list of partners in the text users were not seeing the partners list even though it was there on the page; think about search engine optimization (SEO) because so many users find our info by searching for specific tasks. Diane noted that case studies are a great way to convey information and suggested more use of them. 7) Program Updates a) Residential Toilet Rebates Billie Fisher Single Family Program: Billie reported that the $75 Premium WaterSense Toilet Rebate Program (for toilets that flush a maximum of 1.06 gpf) has slowed down considerably. This is partially due to few models being available through local retailers. Additional outreach to those that do carry qualifying toilets will occur in the upcoming months, as well as more thought towards additional marketing. The $30 Single Family Regular WaterSense Toilet Rebate (for toilets that flush a maximum of 1.28 gpf) ended March 31, $30 rebates were issued this year. A total of 4,570 $30 rebates have been issued since May of 2010, when the program began. 4

5 Multifamily Program: Billie reported that applications have been slow coming in for both Regular and Premium WaterSense rebate programs during the last couple of months. A new ad has been designed for the two multifamily trade publications. Additionally, a multifamily direct mail piece is being designed which SPU plans to send to all multifamily property managers/owners in SPU s retail service area. SPU will contact SWP members to determine interest in having the SWP send the direct mail piece to multifamily property managers/owners in SWP areas as well. All members present expressed interest in participating. b) Commercial Program Kelly O Rourke Kelly reported that the commercial program has completed 33 projects since January. The Cooling Tower Incentive Pilot Program is progressing slowly. Two new prospective participants have been identified from Woodinville Water District and the City of Renton: Red Hook Brewery and Group Health, respectively. Data collection is actively occurring in six locations, with the goal of reaching at least 10 participants. A presentation on the Cooling Tower Pilot Program has been selected for inclusion in this year s Water Smart Conference. c) Irrigation Program Kelly O Rourke Irrigation Rebate Projects: Kelly reported that two irrigation rebate projects have been completed, both in Seattle. Three projects are underway in Renton. Irrigation Scheduling Projects: Kelly reported that two irrigation scheduling projects are underway, one in Renton and one in Bothell. Irrigation Training Available for Homeowners: SPU Irrigation Program Manager Jenna Smith is available to teach a class to residential utility customers on how to utilize the water saving conservation features on their automatic irrigations controllers. Contact Jenna directly to schedule or discuss at (206) or jenna.smith@seattle.gov. The Savvy Gardener Series offered this class recently in Woodinville. About 16 customers spent a sunny summer morning learning how to program their controllers, and in return received a $150 rebate for the installation of a rain sensor or soil moisture sensor or weather sensor. Weather Data and IWMS.org: Though only one weather station is functioning on the iwms.org website, all the irrigation tools are up and running, collecting data and producing watering indexes. As a reminder, the website includes calculators for estimating standard irrigation runtimes and water budget estimates, as well as a daily ET number, and a daily and weekly watering index that can be used in conjunction with the features on an irrigation clock that allows runtimes to be adjusted by a percentage. Future plans for the website include: Integrating the tools onto SWP s regional website, savingwater.org, and identifying software or products that would allow the SWP to access more weather data. 8) Housekeeping Next Meeting Locations All The next meetings are October 14 Coal Creek Utility District & January 13 Seattle Public Utilities. 9) Tour of North City Water District Office Diane Pottinger & All Diane provided a tour of the district office, which is approximately one year old. 10) Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m. 5