Water Conservation & Metering Assessment
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final REPORT Town of Osoyoos October 2015 | 0552.0040.01 WATER CONSERVATION & METERING ASSESSMENT SUBMITTED BY: 304-1353 Ellis Street Kelowna, BC V1Y 1Z9 Contact: Jacob Scissons, P.Eng. Phone: 250-762-2517 Email: [email protected] Letter of Transmittal Town of Osoyoos 8707 Main Street Osoyoos, BC V0H 1V0 Attn: Barry Romanko, Chief Administrative Officer We are pleased to submit this final report entitled: Town of Osoyoos, Water Conservation & Metering Assessment. The document is the result of an undertaking by the Town of Osoyoos for a “Water Metering Strategy” issued in a January 2015 Request for Proposal. In the course of the work, it became evident that the focus of the study would be better directed to water conservation, with metering as one of the tools available to achieve conservation objectives. Study results were discussed with Town staff throughout the period, and presented to Town Council on two occasions. Staff and Council comments have been incorporated in this document. We trust it meets the Town’s objectives and helps to define priorities for the water utility. We thank you for all your timely advice and assistance provided by your staff, and look forward to assisting you further with any aspect of implementation and public consultation. Jacob Scissons, P.Eng. Peter Gigliotti, P.Eng. Project Manager Senior Reviewer U:\Projects_KEL\0552\0040\01\R-Reports-Studies-Documents\Final Report\Urban Systems Report - Water Conservation & Metering Assessment - Final.docx Water Conservation & Metering Assessment Page | i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report presents an assessment of water usage patterns in the Town of Osoyoos water utility, with the aim of developing a plan to reduce domestic water consumption to targeted levels by the year 2020. The targets have been formulated by the Province of BC under the Living Water Smart Initiative. Briefly stated, these targets include: · Overall annual reduction of domestic water consumption by 33%; and · Sourcing 50% of water required for new development by means of water conservation efforts. Additional water conservation drivers identified by the Town include: · Minimizing operations and maintenance costs; · Deferring capital investments for major infrastructure, such as supply wells; and · Increasing public awareness of the importance of water conservation. Domestic water consumption is defined as residential as well as industrial, commercial, and institutional land uses. Agricultural irrigation is not included in the scope of this analysis. The water consumption patterns are analyzed for both the long-term (average annual consumption from 2000 to 2014) and more recent monthly patterns (2014 and 2015). The review of the consumption data finds that: · The largest contributor to high water consumption is summer season lawn irrigation, particularly at single family residential dwellings; · Summer consumption is also increased by the large number of visitors at tourist commercial properties as well as seasonal residents; and · Water use at industrial and retail commercial properties is generally in line with that required for business operations. The study examines a number of water conservation strategies to address excess water use within the Town’s municipal water system. These include: · Dryland landscaping (xeriscaping); · Use of low flow fixtures; · Sprinkling restrictions; · Education and public awareness; · Leak repairs; · Conducting water audits for high use customers; and · Incentives provided by metered rates. Water Conservation & Metering Assessment Page | ii The review of water conservation options concludes that the most cost effective initiatives are those that address new developments. These include bylaws that require new developments to employ low flow fixtures and to use dryland landscaping. A review of water consumption records for several single family homes that use dryland landscaping shows that the typical increase of water consumption in July and August is significantly modulated. The water consumption records also indicate that sprinkling restrictions introduced in May 2015 resulted in only a marginal reduction in residential water consumption. Retrofit initiatives are also effective for water demand reductions, but incur greater cost. Programs such as toilet and showerhead exchanges are estimated to cost approximately $600 for a typical two-bathroom house. Typical cost share programs are structured as 1/3 homeowner, 1/3 local government, and 1/3 senior government. The replacement of front lawns with xeriscaping techniques is estimated to cost in the order of $1,000 per house, depending on the size of the lot. Senior and local government assistance for this type of retrofit is difficult to assess, as these programs are less prevalent than fixture retrofit initiatives. A common water conservation approach for both inside and outside water use is the implementation of universal metering and the use of metered rate incentives. Well-structured metered rates provide financial incentives for conserving water and have historically resulted in reductions of 20 to 25% in overall consumption. The implementation of universal metering is explored and cost estimates are provided. The estimated capital cost of installing meters on all water services in Osoyoos is approximately $2 million. Even without the use of metered rates, universal metering is a recognized tool for managing water utilities. Consideration of universal metering should obtain public assent, and a communications strategy is provided as an appendix to this report. The other common initiative for reducing both inside and outside water use is improving public awareness of the issues surrounding water consumption. Conservation is not only directed at reducing costs, it is also critical to the long-term sustainability of the community water supply. Prudent water usage can prevent shortages during drought conditions and avoid “mining” the aquifer. A motivated community will participate in water conservation if it can appreciate the benefits. An important part of any education and awareness program will start at the elementary school level and expand to residents and businesses. The recommended implementation strategy and priority initiatives are briefly listed as follows: 1. Confirm Council’s support for the selected water conservation strategies. 2. Prepare or modify bylaws to require low flow fixtures and xeriscaping for new developments. 3. Investigate available grants and funding programs to support water conservation initiatives. 4. Seek public feedback regarding the acceptance of universal water metering by means of distributing a comprehensive information package. 5. Initiate dialogue with key stakeholder groups regarding the Town’s water conservation goals and objectives and the potential strategies being considered to achieve them. 6. Identify and plan for the budget and resource requirements for the water conservation initiative. Water Conservation & Metering Assessment Page | iii The suggested next steps outlined above will help the Town maintain momentum on the water conservation initiative. Over the past five years, the Town’s efforts have been effective at reducing water consumption and this study outlines water conservation strategies to recognize further reductions over the next five years and beyond. The calculations below indicate the Town’s progress to date with respect to being 33% more water efficient by 2020. Water consumption is expressed as daily water use per service connection as a means of adopting a consistent measuring protocol. 2010: 2,400,000,000 Litres ÷ 3,200 connections ÷ 365 days = 2,055 litres/connection/day 2015: 2,100,000,000 Litres ÷ 3,650 connections ÷ 365 days = 1,576 litres/connection/day 2020: 2,055 litres/connection/day x 0.67 = 1,377 litres/connection/day Based on the above, the Town is roughly 70% towards achieving the target water use reduction of 33% by 2020. The Town has also been successful at reducing the maximum day water demand by approximately 12% since 2010. This is great progress and continues to defer the need to develop additional source capacity. Overall, it appears that Osoyoos is making strong progress towards achieving their water conservation goals. With a renewed focus on water conservation efforts and implementation of the strategies recommended in this study, this trend is expected to continue. Water Conservation & Metering Assessment Page | iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. i 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Osoyoos Water System Description .............................................................................................. 1 3.0 Water Conservation Drivers .......................................................................................................... 2 4.0 Municipal vs Rural Water Use ....................................................................................................... 3 5.0 Customer Types ............................................................................................................................ 4 5.1 Residential ............................................................................................................................... 4 5.1.1 Single Family Residential ....................................................................................................