• Partnering regional water agencies with regional utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas, and San Diego Gas & Electric. In the pilot program, $10 million will be spent by the utilities on water conservation efforts to reduce electricity involved in pumping water.
• Pursuing conservation programs over the next 10 years that will consider energy and water savings as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
• Increasing standards for landscape water use and irrigation technologies.
• Educating landscape professionals and the public on design, technologies, and maintenance so that water use is lowered and runoff is reduced or eliminated without compromising the aesthetic quality of landscapes and gardens.

“Water agencies across the state are actively pursuing and engaging in conservation programs for their environmental and financial rewards,” said Schaffer. “Conservation has moved to the forefront in policy; most agencies see it as a way to do what’s right for their ratepayers and for California.”

Eastern Municipal Water District’s Progressive Conservation Approaches
Anticipating its customer base will double in the next 13 years, Eastern Municipal Water District is implementing a targeted water conservation program promoting more efficient landscapes, block rates and incentives for conservation technologies.

Serving approximately 500,000 customers within 555 square miles in western Riverside County, Eastern’s service area adds about 1,800 new homes per month. One of the agency’s conservation strategies is focused on new development. The agency’s California Friendly® program for new development received ACWA’s 2006 Theodore Roosevelt Award for Environmental Excellence, a top honor.

Schaffer, who helped with the Eastern program, said agencies considering implementing similar programs should:

• Develop a program concept. Identify goals for your service area and develop a conservation program that will address and meet measurable objectives.
• Seek grant funding. Build a program budget that balances program costs and benefits. Pursue grant funding for programs that will deliver results yet may not be locally cost-effective.
• Use messages and programs that hit the target. Know your audience and their level of acceptance for new ideas and technologies. If you overwhelm them with ideas, they could end up using more water than when they started.
• Evaluate water savings. Periodic program evaluations must be part of the process: be willing to make changes or revisions to achieve greater savings.

“With a targeted program and good planning, innovative conservation programs are highly effective at reducing water demand,” concluded Schaffer. “Customers can decrease their water usage and lower their water costs, agencies can avoid construction and system maintenance costs, and everyone will benefit from decreased dependence on imported water.”