A Summary of Water Efficiency Efforts

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1 City of Portsmouth A Summary of Water Efficiency Efforts March 2014 City of Portsmouth Water Division Department of Public Works 680 Peverly Hill Road Portsmouth, NH

2 Portsmouth Water Demand Trends 6.00 Portsmouth Average Daily Water Pumpage - Million Gallons per Day with Rolling Five Year Average Trend (1950 to 2013)

3 2012 Water System Master Plan Analysis Water Customer Demographics Customer Classification Accounts Current Average Per Account Gallons Per Day Average Billable Units Per Month Commercial 976 1, Industrial 81 6, Municipal 66 1, Residential 6, Irrigation Rye and New Castle Water Districts 2 61,932 2,525 Average Residential Usage has declined by 8.3% since 1999 when it was 217 Gallons per Day

4 Breakdown of Usage Per Tier 1 st Tier 2 nd Tier Monthly Units* Consumed Average Gallons per Day of Use Number Of Customers % of Customers % % , % , % % % % % % % % % % % % Over 15 > % 82.6% 17.4% 1 *Unit = 100 cubic feet = 748 gallons

5 Portsmouth Water Demand Trends Factors Contributing to Declining Demand Water fixture change-outs Conservation ethic Response to rate increases Water bills are primarily based on units of water used Sewer bills are based entirely on units of water used Tiered rates charge customers that use more water a higher rate after they reach 10 units/month

6 Federal Regulation Changes Effecting Water Efficiency The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 1992 mandated that beginning in 1994, common flush toilets use only 1.6 gallons per flush. In December 2007 federal legislation was signed into law establishing new water efficiency standards for residential dishwashers and clothes washing machines effective in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

7 Typical Indoor Water Use American Water Works Research Foundation Faucets 16% Showers 17% Clothes Washers 22% Toilet Flushing 27%

8 City of Portsmouth Water Efficiency Measures Faucets 16% Water Conservation Kit Program (2006 to 2009) Showers 17% Clothes Washers 22% Toilet Flushing 27% Kits included: Low Flow Faucet Aerators Low Flow Showerheads

9 City of Portsmouth Water Efficiency Measures Faucets 16% Showers 17% Clothes Washers 22% Toilet Flushing 27% Rebates for High Efficiency Washer and Toilet Replacements Will be offered to customers beginning in FY15

10 Potential Water Savings Through Rebate Program Most full-sized High Efficiency washers use 13 gallons of water per load, compared to the 27 gallons used by standard top loading machines. Washing machines have and expected useful life of 14 years 7% of the public will replace their washing machines per year Source: Water Conservation: Customer Behavior and Effective Communications Water Research Foundation project #4012, 2012 HIGH EFFICIENCY TOILETS: 1.28 to 1.6 Gallons per Flush versus older models that used 3.5 to 5.0 Gallons per flush

11 Automated Meter Reading Project (AMR) (2008 to 2010) Billing System Radio Meter Radios Transmit Meter Register Data to Computerized Meter Reading System. City Staff have continuous access to this data and can identify and track water use patterns.

12 Additional Benefit of AMR Program: More frequent water billing System transition has enabled City to go to monthly billing (bills used to go out three times a year) Consumers can now see the immediate impact of high water use on their bill Leaks identified quickly as water consumption can be compared to prior month or yearly use. Leak codes can track these users, allowing our customer service representatives to contact users about high water use.

13 Leak Detection Equipment (purchased in 2009)

14 Leak Detection Analysis Correlating Data Showing location of leak

15 Other Water Efficiency Efforts Rain Barrel Program (2009 to 2011) 600 barrels sold to Portsmouth water customers at a reduced price EPA WaterSense Partnership (Joined in 2013) Partners are provided with outreach information and assistance to improve water efficiency

16 City of Portsmouth For Additional Information, Contact: City of Portsmouth Water Division Department of Public Works 680 Peverly Hill Road Portsmouth, NH