This document summarizes water use and conservation efforts in College Station, Texas. It discusses promoting water efficiency and reducing lawn overwatering from 2011 to 2013. Key points include that residential customers use 22,000 gallons daily in the summer on average, 50-55% of residential use is for outdoor watering, and a program targeted 5,500 customers using over 100,000 gallons in the summer months, providing them with individual water budgets based on lot size and landscape area. The program helped reduce the percentage of customers overwatering from 80% in 2010 to 30% in 2013 and cut total overuse by millions of gallons.

1. RA Kaiser
J Totten
CP Khedun
AC Lewis
J Nations
V Garcia, Jr.
A Landon
LC Sansom
J Andrus

2. COLLEGE STATION WATER USE
Residential Customers: 22,000 customers
Average Summer daily use total: 20 million gal/day
Total Service Area Population: 85,000
Water conservation practices: Block rates, reuse, irrigation
check up, water waste restrictions, rain barrel rebate,
educational information

3. PROMOTING EFFICIENCY/REDUCE LAWN
OVERWATERING: 2011 TO 2013.

50-55% of annual residential use is outdoor watering

City use
• Winter average about 8-9 mgd
• Summer average about 20 mgd

Residential customers
• Winter: 7,500 g/month
• Summer: 20,000+g/m

TARGET AUDIENCE
• Residential customers using over 100,000 gallons (less winter
use) for summer months

About 5,500 customers in 18 neighborhoods/40% of water use

4. COMPUTING WATER BUDGETS

Data Source
• Monthly water use records from College Station Water Utilities
• Irrigation Area: Lot size, less building footprint from Brazos Appraisal District
• Texas ET Network potential evapotranspiration (PET) data
• NWS rainfall data

Estimated monthly indoor water use
• Estimate average winter consumption (AWC)
• AWC = Average of three lowest winter months [November – February]

Summer water consumption (SWC) [April – September] for each
household
• SWC = Monthly Usage − AWC

5. CALCULATING LANDSCAPE WATER
BUDGET
Water budget (gallons)= irrigation area(sq. ft.) x crop coefficient x PET
(in)-rainfall (in) x 0.6 g/sq. ft.

6. A SAMPLE IRRIGATION AREA
 Sample lot
• Parcel Area:
21,780 ft2
• Living Area:
2,377 ft2
• Building Area: 4,083 ft2
• Driveway Area: 2,440 ft2
• Irrigation Area: 15,257 ft2

7. WATER BUDGET FOR SAMPLE LOT
2012 Total Water Use
45,000
40,000
35,000
Gallons
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
April
May
Irrigation
June
Coefficient Method
July
August
GIS Method
September

8. EXAMPLE OF UNDER BUDGET

ACTUAL RESIDENT SUMMER
2012 CONSUMPTION

9. Gallons
Thousands
CHANGE IN CONSUMPTION PATTERN: 2010-2013
80
AN EDUCATED
CUSTOMER
60
40
20
0
-20
2010
2011
2012
2013

10. EXAMPLE OF OVER BUDGET

ACTUAL RESIDENT SUMMER
2012 CONSUMPTION
EQUIVALENT TO
2/3 FT. OF WATER
OVER THE LOT
KYLE FIELD WITH
1” OF WATER

11. STUDY NEIGHBORHOODS
5,570 LOTS
40% OF TOTAL
RESIDENTIAL WATER USE

12. Gallons
Millions
CONSUMPTION EFFICIENCY-5,500 CUSTOMERS
IN ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
250
80%
70%
200
60%
50%
150
40%
100
30%
20%
50
10%
0
0%
2010
Total Amount Over
2011
2012
2013
Percentage of Customers Who Overwatered

13. NEXT YEAR

Information on weekly water budgets
• ET network
• Rainfall by sectors of city
• Send weekly watering reports to customers/ TV station announcement

Application of new technology
• Rainfall controller shut off
• Soil moisture controller shut off.

14. Thank You
Dave Coleman