1.
WaterSmart
Pilot
Program
(October
2014-­‐March
2015)
Malini
Banerjee,
Ph.D.
City
of
Dallas
|
Water
U<li<es

2.
Outline
• Dallas
Water
U<li<es
Background
• WaterSmart
SoBware
– Selec6ng
Samples
– Home
Water
Reports
– Results
– Lessons
Learned
2

3.
Dallas
Water
U<li<es
Background
• Popula6on
served
(2.5
Million)
– City
of
Dallas
-­‐
1.3
Million
– 27
Customer
Ci6es
-­‐
1.2
Million
• Conserva6on
Program
Chronology
– 2001
–
First
landscape
ordinance
– 2005
Water
Conserva6on
5
Year
Strategic
Plan
– 2007
Time
of
the
day
watering
restric6ons
– 2012
Twice
weekly
watering
restric6on
• Water
consump6on
change
since
2001:
– 170
BG
in
FY2000
– 136
BG
in
FY2015
3

4.
WaterSmart
SoBware
Awarded
6
months
of
WaterSmart
soWware
as
a
part
of
Na6onal
Mayor’s
challenge
winnings
(courtesy:
Wyland
Founda6on
and
WaterSmart)
• Pilot
Program
October
2014
–
March
2015
• 5,000
home
water
reports
per
month
• Customer
service
training
• Help
with
technical
and
customer
support
during
the
pilot
phase
• End
of
pilot
study
report
4

5.
Pilot
Study
Sample
Selec<on
• 5,000
single
family
residences
randomly
selected
as
Experimental
Group
– Received
one
welcome
le[er,
– water
consump6on
survey
– one
home
water
report
monthly
for
6
months
– end
of
pilot
survey
• 5,000
single
family
residences
selected
as
the
Control
Group
– Similar
in
water
consump6on
pa[ern
with
the
experimental
group
– did
not
received
any
home
water
report
or
other
outreach
materials
from
WaterSmart
5

6.
6
Sample
Home
Water
Report
Source:
Water
Score
Efficient
Homes,
Average
Homes
and
You
Average,
Efficient
and
Below
Average
City
Logo,
Address
Tips
for
saving
water
Trivia/Info

7.
Online
Dashboard
for
Consumers
and
U<lity
7
Source:

8.
Dashboard
Example
2
8
Source:

9.
Web
U<lity
Dashboard
Func<ons
9
Water
Conserva<on
Staff
Dallas
Water
Customers
Update
customer
profile
Opt
out
a
customer
from
pilot
Leave
feedback
or
requests
to
opt
out
Check
Registra6on
Rates
Check
Past
Water
Consump6on
Pa[ern
for
each
customers
Check
Past
Water
Consump6on
Pa[ern
for
each
customers
Read
customer
feedback
Check
current
and
past
home
water
reports
Check
sugges6ons
and
6ps
provided
to
save
water
Keep
notes/maintain
log

10.
Result
of
6
Month
Pilot
WaterSmart
• WaterSmart
reported
2.6%
water
savings
• City
of
Dallas
Water
Conserva6on
(around
2.5%
for
the
last
4
months
of
the
program)
• 5%
registra6on
rate
• 10-­‐12
customer
calls/emails
per
home
water
report
cycle
10

11.
Lessons
Learned
• Make
sure
customer
calls
are
assigned
to
appropriate
staff
• Get
beVer
understanding
of
– the
customer
classifica6on
– cohort
grouping
– assump6ons
• SoBware
directly
aligned
with
SAP
if
possible
• Flexibility
with
graphics
on
home
water
report
• U<lize
exis<ng
conserva<on
audit
or
irriga<on
evalua<on
program
to
do
some
on-­‐site
analysis
11

12.
Overall
Results
• An
innova&ve
method
to
increase
water
consump6on
awareness
among
customers
• Short
term
increase
in
water
savings
(based
on
6
month
pilot
study)
• Most
no6ceable
savings
among
high
water
users
12

13.
13
Malini
Banerjee,
Ph.D.
City of Dallas | Water Utilities
1500 Marilla - 2AN | Dallas, TX 75201 |
Office: 214.670.4022
malini.banerjee@dallascityhall.com