Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05The Washington State Legislature passed the Municipal Water Supply - Efficiency Requirements Act of 2003, better known as the Municipal Water Law. The law gives municipal water suppliers certain benefits and obligations. One of the obligations is to comply with the water use efficiency rule. Municipal water suppliers must set water use efficiency goals through a public process, which was done in 2007, and report annually on their performance to customers, Washington Department of Health, and also make the information available to the public. The City of Port Townsend is issuing this annual report on water use and efficiency for the period of January 1 – December 31, 2007. 2007 Port Townsend Water Use Efficiency Report Port Townsend customers used a total of 384 million gallons of water in 2007. This equates to a yearly average consumption for all uses of 1.052 million gallons per day or approximately 110 per person per day. Average residential consumption was 67 gallons per person. Of this total, 21 million gallons or 5.5% was unaccounted for by customer meters or other measurement. Unaccounted for water is lost through such things as under registering meters, non-metered Port Townsend Average Daily Water Consumption 0.000 0.200 0.400 0.600 0.800 1.000 1.200 1.400 1.600 1.800 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Mi l l i o n G a l l o n s The City of Port Townsend incorporated the following water conservation program objectives and methods of achieving them in the Water System Plan adopted in 2008: Reduce average daily per-capita use by 5 percent over a 10- year period starting in 2004. Individual water use has been on a general declining trend. Since 2004 per capita water use has declined by an average 3.3%. A reduction in per capita use from 125 gallons per day in 2006 to 110 gallons per day in 2007 represents an annual savings of 50 million gallons. Service Meter Monitoring and Repair. All service connections are metered. Older service meters are assumed to be reading low because of wear on internal parts. The water utility budget funds replacement of 150 meters per year with Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) meters. Large meters, which are more expensive to replace, are checked for calibration periodically. Utility Bill History. Utility billing software was updated in 2007 to print a 13 month history of customer water consumption and the average monthly consumption for all domestic customers on the utility bills. Public Education. The City will provide public education on an on-going basis through the monthly newsletter, school programs, newspaper stories and coordination of education programs with Washington State University Cooperative Extension. Water Efficient Landscape and Irrigation. The City uses water efficient landscape and irrigation design principles on all new public and substantially remodeled facilities (schools, parks, reservoirs, community centers, libraries, other City buildings). Gallons Per Day Per Capita 106 108 110 112 114 116 118 120 122 124 126 2004 2005 2006 2007 Mi l l i o n G a l l o n s Purpose of Report Water Use Summary Goal Setting Information Don't Flush Your Money Down the Drain If your toilet is from 1992 or earlier, you probably have an inefficient model that uses be- tween 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. New and improved high- efficiency models use less than 1.3 gallons per flush—that's at least 60 percent less than their older, less efficient counterparts. Retrofitting your house with high-efficiency toilets can save a family of four roughly $1,000 over the next 10 years without compromising performance. Reduce the current ratio of the Maximum Daily Demand (MDD) to Average Daily Demand (ADD). Port Townsend’s ratio of MDD, the maximum water used in a one day period (typically the peak summer day use), to ADD has remained relatively constant during the past four years. Conservation program should be balanced and equitable and not unduly burden one customer class or industry. Be primarily voluntary, assistance-oriented, and informational, rather than restrictive or forced. Incorporate on-going conservation efforts on the part of the City’s utilities, including the Parks, Water, Sewer, and Streets departments. Lords Lake Reservoir Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 MDD to ADD 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.2 Washington State Municipal Water Law distribution leakage standard mandates reducing unaccounted for water to 10% or less of total water produced using a rolling 3 year average. A portion of the approximate 100 miles of underground pipelines has been inspected for leaks on a 5‑year rotating schedule. The last leak inspection, which surveyed 18 miles of pipeline, was done in 2005 at a cost of $5000. The City, in partnership with the PUD, is requesting a grant to fund purchase of leak detection equipment to be shared with other utilities in eastern Jefferson County. This will allow the City to conduct its own system leak surveys and assist in pinpointing suspected leaks. Improved water accounting significantly reduced the percentage of unaccounted for water in 2007. The three year rolling average for unaccounted for water is 10.2%. Lords Lake Reservoir during 2002 drought If you have any questions please call Ian Jablonski at the Port Townsend Department of Water Quality (379-5001). Additional information is also available on the City’s web site: www.cityofpt.us/Publicworks/WaterQuality.asp Fix That Leak Goal Setting Information Unaccounted Water Questions Year 2005 2006 2007 3 Year Average Percent unaccounted for water 12.2% 12.8% 5.5% 10.2% Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year. If you're unsure whether you have a leak, read your water meter before and after a two- hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak. A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water every day. To tell if your toilet has a leak, place a drop of food color- ing in the tank; if the color shows in the bowl without flush- ing, you have a leak. Water Trivia Peak daily water use in 2007 was 2.4 MGD on July 11th when the maximum daily temperature rose to 93 degrees. The average single family home used 152 gallons per day. At a billing rate of $2.05 per 1000 gallons for water, a 200 gallon per day water leak will increase your monthly water utility bill by $12.30 and may also add $8 per month to your waste water charges. Outdoor watering accounts for most of the difference in water use between summer and winter. A hose may discharge 6.5 gallons per minute. Over watering your lawn and garden or leaving it running while doing your activities wastes water and cost you money. Since 1994 kitchen faucets are required to have a maximum flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute and bathroom faucets 1.5 gallons per minute.