Metrics & Trends

The cornerstone of any successful conservation program is to have the metrics in place to set targets and goals and to measure success. Currently there are very limited standardized metrics in place today for water conservation programs. Existing measurements for conservation are inconsistently used and create confusion and inaccurate information. This workgroup has the objective of developing uniform metrics for all sectors of water use. Once water use is efficiently categorized then the data will become more useful in determining areas that need focus. Individual conservation programs can be tailored to focus on areas that would have potential savings due to conservation strategies. Standardized metrics would also be a useful tool for the water supply planning process.

Summary of Progress

The workgroup and Council as a whole feel that communities need help in tracking water conservation progress, and the reporting of information such as water savings and water loss needs to be facilitated. Steps that must be taken to obtain data on how water is being used, to determine what is working in water conservation, and what resources water providers need to achieve long-term water savings that will stretch water supplies.

Tracking conservation progress in Texas should be a high priority. The 2007 State Water Plan calls for 23 percent of our future additional water supply to come from increased water efficiencies. While conservation plans are required and will help meet this goal, it does not appear that adequate quantitative or qualitative tracking of conservation efforts is taking place. Wholesale water providers are currently not required to submit information on water use and water sales to the Texas Water Development Board. Moreover, only about half of water utilities required by law to submit information, such as water audits and water use surveys, to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), have done so.

For many reasons there is inadequate information and data collection. For some entities there are neither the tools, staffing resources or knowledge on how to acquire and submit requested information. For other entities, there are budgeting factors that do not allow for the time and money to allocate resource to such efforts. Some respondents that do reply to TWDB’s request for data and information provide incomplete or inaccurate data. Additionally, some entities simply choose not to respond because there are no major consequences for non-compliance. Three areas needing improvements are the implementation of data collection from wholesale water providers, development of standardized methodologies for data and information reporting, and enforcement of existing legislative requirements for reporting.

Next Workgroup Meeting

Time:

10:00 a.m., Monday, April 26, 2010

Agenda:

Meeting Agenda

Upon request, the Texas Water Development Board will facilitate in providing onsite conference space for external participants interested in listening in on workgroup sessions.

Past Workgroup Meetings

Workgroup Posted Comments