Water Conservation Update

1. WATER CONSERVATION
IN COLLEGE STATION
A success story!
BVWaterSmart Research Team
R A Kaiser C P Khedun A C Lewis
J Nations D Smith C Bastidas

2. A FOCUS ON SINGLE FAMILY OUTDOOR
WATER USE
 Overwatering lawns and landscapes wastes water
• 40-60% of single-family residential water use is outdoor
• According to EPA up between 30- 50% is wasted due to overwatering
 Causes
• Continuing to run sprinklers after
rainfall provides all of turf needs
• Running irrigation system too long
• Running irrigation system too often
• Poor irrigation system design
• Leaks
 Five interventions targeting outdoor water use
Source: EPA WaterSense

3. FIVE TARGETED INTERVENTIONS
1. BVWATERSMART website & network
2. Weekly watering notifications
3. Provide water budgets to homeowners
4. Irrigation check-ups
5. Homeowner irrigation workshops

4. 1.BVWATERSMART.TAMU.EDU WEBSITE
 Funded by Brazos Valley Conservation District
 Rainfall stations throughout BCS
 Weekly watering information by neighborhood
 Explanatory video’s on area water sources and irrigation
systems
 Information on lawn diseases and treatment
 Sign up for weekly watering recommendations

5. RAINFALL STATIONS FOR IRRIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS

6. RAINFALL VARIES….
0.8 in
 August 20, 2016
2.0 in
1.2 in
0 in

7. WATERING
RECOMMENDATION
FOR
PEBBLE CREEK
NEIGHBORHOOD
10/8/2017

8. BVWATERSMART WEBSITE HITS AND USERS
September
2016
167,000
visits
2,500
individual
users
September
2017
189,000
visits
3,600
individual
users

9. 2. BVWATERSMART SUBSCRIBERS
A SUCCESS STORY IN REDUCING WATER USE
390 users have signed up for the Monday
morning emails providing weekly watering
instructions based on rainfall for the past week

10. WHEN WATERING IS NOT REQUIRED
A message from Brazos Valley WaterSmart
Dear Ronald Kaiser,
Rainfall in your neighborhood this past week provided all of your lawn water needs.
This is based on rainfall of 1.66 inches for the week of Aug 06, 2017 to Aug 13, 2017.
If the forecast for the upcoming week is rainy, please consider turning off your sprinklers.
At any time, for the latest rainfall totals please visit http://bvwatersmart.tamu.edu.
Thank you for helping us conserve water.

11. A message from Brazos Valley WaterSmart
Dear Ronald Kaiser,
Your lawn needs water this week.
Recommended sprinkler system run times:
•Multi-stream rotors : 40 minutes per day, twice a week.
•Rotors : 30 minutes per day, twice a week.
•Pop-up sprays : 15 minutes per day, twice a week.
•Shrub sprays : 15 minutes per day, twice a week.
If you need more information about sprinkler types see our website
This is based on rainfall of 0.11 inches for the week of Jul 30, 2017 to Aug 06, 2017.
If the forecast for the upcoming week is rainy, please consider turning off your sprinklers.
At any time, for the latest rainfall totals please visit http://bvwatersmart.tamu.edu.
Thank you for helping us conserve water.
WHEN WATERING IS REQUIRED

12. IMPACT OF WEEKLY EMAILS ON OUTDOOR
WATER USE
RANDOM SAMPLE OF 30 CUSTOMERS FROM 390 SUBSCRIBERS
Year 2013 2014 2015 2016
Volume (gal) 2,455,000 2,553,000 2,544,000 1,572,000

13. INTERVENTION 3 LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION
BUDGETS BEGAN IN 2012
40% OF TOTAL
RESIDENTIAL WATER USE
20% OF TOTAL RESIDENTIAL
CUSTOMERS
PREPARED FOR 5,500
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS

14. ANATOMY OF A WATER BUDGET
𝑄 = 𝐾𝑐 × 𝑃𝐸𝑇 − 𝑃 × 𝐴 × 0.62
Irrigation
needs
(gal)
Landscape/Crop
Coefficient
Potential
Evapotranspiration
(in)
Rainfall
(in)
Irrigation
Area
(ft2)
Unit
Conversion
(gal/ft2)

15. A SAMPLE IRRIGATION AREA
 Sample lot
• Parcel Area: 21,780 ft2
• Living Area: 2,377 ft2
• Building Area: 4,083 ft2
• Driveway Area: 2,440 ft2
• Irrigation Area: 15,257 ft2

16. CALCULATING IRRIGATION LANDSCAPE AREA
Appraised Lot Area (ft2
)
4,000-
5,999
6,000-
7,999
8,000-
9,999
10,000-
11,999
12,000-
13,999
14,000-
17,999
18,000-
23,999
24,000-
29,999
30,000-
59,999
60,000-
89,999
AppraisedFloorArea(ft2
)
500-
999
0.66 0.69 0.76 0.82 0.84 0.87 0.87 0.94 0.94
1,000-
1,499
0.55 0.60 0.66 0.72 0.75 0.78 0.83 0.86 0.91 0.92
1,500-
1,999
0.50 0.56 0.62 0.67 0.71 0.76 0.80 0.84 0.87 0.90
2,000-
2,499
0.53 0.53 0.57 0.61 0.65 0.70 0.76 0.81 0.86 0.90
2,500-
2,999
0.49 0.56 0.57 0.58 0.60 0.66 0.73 0.77 0.84 0.89
3,000-
3,499
0.52 0.53 0.55 0.58 0.61 0.70 0.75 0.83 0.89
3,500-
3,999
0.54 0.53 0.56 0.60 0.67 0.72 0.80 0.88
4,000-
4,999
0.60 0.61 0.66 0.67 0.75 0.83
5,000-
8,999
0.50 0.60 0.61 0.64 0.74 0.85
Lewis, A., Khedun, C. P., Kaiser, R. (2017). "Coefficients for Estimating Landscape Area on Single Family
Residential Lots." Journal - American Water Works Association 109(8).

17. HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU USE WHEN YOU
APPLY 1” OF WATER TO YOUR LAWN
Lot Area
(1,000 ft2)
Average
Landscape Area (ft2)
Equivalent in Gallons for
every 1” of Water Applied
4–6 2,800 1,700
6–8 3,900 2,400
8–10 5,300 3,300
10–12 6,700 4,200
12–14 8,000 5,000
14–18 10,000 6,200
18–24 14,200 8,800
24–30 18,500 11,500
½ acre = 21,780 ft2
Lewis, A., Khedun, C. P., Kaiser, R. (2017). "Coefficients for Estimating Landscape Area on Single
Family Residential Lots." Journal - American Water Works Association 109(8).

18. SAMPLE LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION BUDGETS
 Compares
• How much lawn needs
• How much is being watered
 Customer overwatered
45,000 gallons for summer

19. OUTDOOR WATER USE IS DECLINING FOR
PEOPLE RECEIVING WATER BUDGETS
Year Gallons
2010 466,500,000
2011 628,000,000
2012 437,600,000
2013 435,600,000
2014 388,100,000
2015 415,500,000
2016 333,400,000
322,000,000
ESTIMATED REDUCTION IN USE
SINCE 2010 BASE LINE—
DROPPING 2011 AS DROUGHT
OF RECORD ANOMALY
Note: rounded to nearest 100,000 gallons
For 5,500 customers

20. WATER BUDGETS REDUCE THE NUMBER OF HIGH
WATER USERS
Outdoor water use
(Apr-Oct)
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
> 100,000 1,800 2,800 1,600 1,600 1,400 1,500 1,000
> 75,000 2,700 3,500 2,500 2,400 2,100 2,300 1,700
> 50,000 3,600 4,400 3,500 3,500 3,100 3,300 2,700
> 25,000 4,600 4,900 4,500 4,600 4,100 4,300 3,900
Note: rounded to nearest hundred
For 5,500 customers
Drought

21.  Voluntary
 Free to homeowner
 Informed through
• Utility bill insert
• High water bill
• Friend/Neighbor referral
• Irrigation seminar
• Water budget letters
 802 since 2010
INTERVENTION 4:
IRRIGATION SYSTEM
CHECK-UPS

22. INTERVENTION 4. IRRIGATION SYSTEM CHECK-UPS
RESULTS
 Between 2010 and 2013—375 Checkups
 202 no significant change in controller
 173 controllers with adjustments
 11,600,000 gallons in savings over 4 year period
 Jennifer Nations’ Masters Thesis

23. INTERVENTION 5: IRRIGATION SEMINARS
3 PER YEAR FOR LAST 3 YEARS APPROXIMATELY 400 PEOPLE ATTENDED
NEXT RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO ASSESS SAVINGS

24. WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON
 Revising website design
• Improve visual appeal
• Provide weekly watering recommendations by neighborhood
• Water video’s on irrigation controllers, lawn management
 BV WaterSmart: estimating irrigation budget monthly and
comparing to monthly water bill

25. RAINFALL BY NEIGHBORHOOD AREA
Location Rainfall Amount (in) Watering Recommendations
Central Bryan 0 click here
North Bryan 0
East Bryan
West Bryan
College Station Campus
East College Station 0.5
Southwood Valley
South College Station
Wellborn Area 1.2 Watering is not required
Wickson

26. ESTIMATED IRRIGATION BUDGET: COMPARE WITH
YOUR MONTHLY USE IN YOUR WATER BILL—WILL
POST MONTHLY
Sample Lot Area (ft2)
Overall lot 10,500
Home floor space 2,140
Landscape 6,402
Month July Total
Week 1 2 3 4
Precipitation (in) 1.2 0.6 0.0 0.0 1.8
Modified ET (in) 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 4.5
Irrigation needed (in) 0.0 0.5 1.1 1.2 2.8
Corresponding volume (gal) 0 2,000 4,500 4,700 11,200
Lewis, A., Khedun, C. P., Kaiser, R. (2017). "Coefficients for Estimating Landscape Area on Single
Family Residential Lots." Journal - American Water Works Association 109(8).

27. 1. Five interventions improved efficient irrigation by reducing use
• Estimated reduced in use by 335,000,000 gallons
• This is equivalent to 1 months total winter city water use
• This is amount of water a 1,000 households of 4 would use in a year
2. College Station residents positively respond to water saving
educational interventions
A WATER CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY
3. Comment from a happy customer
“I decided to try out the recommendations and they are spot on!”
They have been in the house a little over a year but previous
owners had summer water usage 2 to 2.5 times higher that.

28.  Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District
• Providing funding for rainfall network and website
 City of College Station – Water Services
• Dave Coleman, Water Services Director
• Jennifer Nations, Water Conservation Coordinator
 Brazos Central Appraisal District
 Brazos Valley Water Smart Team
 Texas Center for Applied Technology
• Computer guru’s for website and data
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS