WATER CONSERVATION Files

Water Conservation through pricing and markets

Presentation by John Danforth to CWAG. Slides show that market forces can allocate water more efficiently, promote conservation, and help protect the environment. View Document.

Rethinking the Contribution of Water Conservation

Presentation to CWAG by Linda Stitzer of Western Resource Advocates advocating a greater role for water conservation. View Document.

2012-04-16 The Importance of Conservation

Where we use water is a key to conservation. Water used outside the home, most typically for watering vegetation, is lost to the atmosphere. Water used in the home can be returned to the aquifer. This is performed efficiently in municipalities that have central collection, treatment and recharge facilities. It is done less efficiently in communities that use septic tanks with leach fields. While conservation of all uses is valuable, the greatest benefits will come from outdoor uses. View document.

2014-07-30 River of the Month: The Verde River

Short profile of the Verde River. View Document.

Arizona Water Meter: A Comparison of Water Conservation Programs in 15 Arizona Communities

This report highlights the water conservation programs of 15 Arizona communities and evaluates their programs by seven important water conservation criteria. The communities are Buckeye, Casa Grande, Chandler, Clarkdale, Lake Havasu City, Mesa, Payson, Peoria, Phoenix, Prescott, Safford, Scottsdale, Sierra Vista, Tucson, and Yuma. These communities represent a diverse cross-section of municipal water providers, and are varied with respect to size, budget, geographic location, ownership structure, and regulatory program. By presenting a broad sample of current conservation practices, utilities, researchers, policy makers, and local communities can make informed decisions about the possibilities that exist for improvement in their own programs. Report prepared by Western Resource Advocates. View Document.

Civano Homes Energy & Water Use Report 2008

Civano homes as a group perform at a significantly higher level than homes built before energy codes were enforced in Tucson, as well as most homes built in the Tucson region today. Based on the housing sample used for the 2008 study year, Civano average total energy use per year, per home in 2008 was approximately 31% over non energy-code homes and 27% better than the energy code group. Civano's heating and cooling energy reduction over non energy-code homes was approximately 42% and was 38% better than energy code homes. Overall potable water use reductions in sample Civano homes compared to city-at-large homes are also significant. Development practices, technology and social convention in Civano have yielded an approximate reduction of overall water use per year, per household of 41%. Potable water consumption has been cut approximately 55%. View Document.

Deschutes Water Alliance Water Bank

Description of very successful water bank on the Deschutes River in Oregon. View Document.

Estimated Water Demand and Conservation Potential of Domestic Wells in the Sierra Vista Subwatershed, Arizona

The effect of domestic wells on aquifers and streams in Arizona is not well quantified. Because these wells do not require metering, estimates of their pumpage can vary (see Section 3). Nonetheless, the total demand from domestic wells is potentially large and important to water providers, cities and counties as they plan and develop strategies to meet future water needs, including water conservation programs.
Due to the uncertainty in demand, Western Resource Advocates (WRA) contracted Plateau Resources LLC (Plateau) to develop a methodology to estimate the conservation potential of domestic wells in the Sierra Vista Subwatershed (SVS). While this study does not report a total domestic well demand for the region, it does present recent and new household estimates and identifies areas with water conservation potential. Such information may help water managers in the SVS better understand domestic well use characteristics and design and implement appropriate water conservation programs. The methodology developed here is likely also transferable to other areas of Arizona and the western United States. View Document.

Harvesting Rainwater for Landscape Use

Excellent booklet published by U of A describing active and passive methods of harvesting rainwater for landscape use. View Document.

History of Rainwater Harvesting

Journal article from USDA giving a brief history of rainwater harvesting and asserting that the technique deserves increased attention. View Document.

How to read your water bill

How to read a City of Prescott water bill. View Document.

Low Water Use Plant List for Prescott AMA

ADWR generated a list of low water use plants suitable for the Prescott AMA. 12 pages. View Document.

New House New Paradigm: A Model for How to Plan, Build, and Live Water-Smart

The Interior West is simultaneously the driest and fastest growing region of the United States. With an expected influx of hundreds of thousands of new residents to this region in the coming decades, it is imperative that a new style of development be implemented now — one that recognizes and embraces the distinct lack of water in this region. This report shows what this new style of development can look like and how it can succeed through the integration of smart planning, green building practices, and programs aimed at encouraging residents to live a water- smart lifestyle.
In the "New House, New Paradigm" report, Western Resource Advocates (WRA) describes the nexus between land use and water demands and offers a model for how water-smart growth can meet both the housing needs of our new residents and preserve our natural rivers and water- sheds. The model addresses water conservation and efficiency in the planning, building, and living phases of new residential development. WRA highlights existing water-smart developments throughout the region as case studies to demonstrate the feasibility of this new growth style and to highlight water conservation successes. View Document.

Options for Water Conservation Strategies

Report published in 2004 by the Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee lists and discussed various water conservation options. View Document.

Prescott Weather Data, 2005-2012

Data provided by City of Prescott Water Conservation Coordinator. View Document.

Regional Water Conservation Program Development and Recommended Implementation Plan

In 2007, the Upper Verde Watershed Protection Coalition Board identified the development of a regional water conservation plan to improve water use efficiency within the region as a high priority for the Coalition.
This report summarizes the results of Sub Tasks 1 and 2 of the Water Conservation Program Development work task. The objectives of Tasks 1 and 2 were to: 1) identify and evaluate existing water conservation efforts currently underway within the Coalition area, 2) develop water use metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts, and 3) analyze the results of the regional water conservation opinion survey conducted in 2007 by the Coalition members. These chapters provide the background analysis necessary for development of the regional water conservation program analysis and recommendations for program implementation found in Chapters 5 through 9. Report by Larson Associates. View Document.

Summary of Water Conservation Programs in AMAs

ADWR summarizes conservation programs and educational outreach efforts for cities in AMAs in 2007. 55 pages. View Document.

Sustainable Water Management: Guidelines.

Sonoran Institute report detailing the importance of riparian habitat, the impacts of groundwater mining, and offering a framework for sustainable water management. Case studies of the upper San Pedro River, the upper Santa Cruz River, and the upper Verde River. 52 pages. View Document.

The Last Drop: Climate Change and the Southwest Water Crisis

At present, without climate change, the Southwest is relying on the unsustainable withdrawal of groundwater reserves to meet today's demand; those reserves will be drained over the next century as population and incomes grow. With climate change, the Southwest water crisis will grow far worse. Continuing the current trend in global greenhouse-gas emissions will make the cost of the next century's projected water shortage at least 25 percent higher. Adaptation (conservation and efficiency) measures, however, have the potential to greatly lower water use throughout the region. As climate change exacerbates water woes, some adaptation will be essential to stave off unplanned water shortages and restrictions. Bringing the Southwest's water use down to sustainable levels will necessitate either very strong residential adaptation measures, or a combination of strong agricultural adaptation measures (including the elimination of some low-value crops) and moderate residential measures. View Document.

Urban Sprawl: Impacts on Urban Water Use

Patterns of urban and suburban growth on the landscape are closely connected to water use. Over a specific geographic area, water-efficient land development can save significant quantities of water while less efficient land development—sprawl—often results in wasteful use. As populations and urban/suburban land development continue to expand across the Southwest, we should explore this connection closely. Report published by Western Resource Advocates. View Document.

Using Gray Water at Home

Two page brochure from ADEQ describing rules for using gray water. View Document.

Water Budget Spreadsheet

An Excel spreadsheet for estimating landscape water requirements using area of plantings, plant water demand factors and the impact of rainwater harvesting.  The spreadsheet is based on the booklet Harvesting Rainwater for Landscape Use.

Download Spreadsheet.

Water Conservation Tips

Summary brochure of water conservation tips from ADWR. 2 pages. View Document.

Water Efficient Restaurant Technologies

Two page brochure describing water efficient devices for restaurants. View Document.

Water Sustainability in Las Vegas

Presentation by the Southern Nevada Water Authority describing successful water conservation programs in Las Vegas. 16 pages. View Document.