Economic Efficiency of Residential Water Conservation Programs in a Pennsylvania Public Water Utility

2013 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Woltemade ◽  
Kurt Fuellhart
Keyword(s):  
Economic Efficiency ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Conservation Programs ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Residential Water

Counting Fish: Environmental Benefits Calculation for Avoided Costs Analysis in Urban Water Use Efficiency Planning

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Shulte Joung ◽  
Mary Ann Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Conservation Programs ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Water Savings ◽  
Urban Water Use ◽  
Use Efficiency

This report documents a project undertaken for the California Urban Water Conservation Council to create a method to calculate water utility avoided costs and assign economic value to the environmental benefits of raw water savings as a result of implementing urban water conservation programs. It is assumed that water savings associated with implementation of conservation programs can be quantified and represented as a reduction in the demand for water from a particular set of supply sources. This demand reduction may in turn result in a change to the availability of an environmental benefit provided by that source. Environmental valuation, as it is applied here, is relatively new and there are numerous complications, ambiguities, data gaps and differences of opinion in the application of the methodology. For that reason, this report should be considered a pioneering effort to put together all the required elements in a single coherent framework.

The implications of climate change on residential water use: a micro-scale analysis of Portland (OR), USA

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Shandas ◽  
Meenakshi Rao ◽  
Moriah McSharry McGrath
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Residential Water Use ◽  
Residential Water

Social and behavioral research is crucial for securing environmental sustainability and improving human living environments. Although the majority of people now live in urban areas, we have limited empirical evidence of the anticipated behavioral response to climate change. Using empirical data on daily household residential water use and temperature, our research examines the implications of future climate conditions on water conservation behavior in 501 households within the Portland (OR) metropolitan region. We ask whether and how much change in ambient temperatures impact residential household water use, while controlling for taxlot characteristics. Based on our results, we develop a spatially explicit description about the changes in future water use for the study region using a downscaled future climate scenario. The results suggest that behavioral responses are mediated by an interaction of household structural attributes, and magnitude and temporal variability of weather parameters. These findings have implications for the way natural resource managers and planning bureaus prepare for and adapt to future consequences of climate change.

Rationality, accounting and benchmarking water businesses

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Pawsey ◽  
Jayanath Ananda ◽  
Zahirul Hoque
Keyword(s):  
Economic Efficiency ◽  
Fair Value ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Capital Input ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dea Models ◽  
Future Work

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the sensitivity of economic efficiency rankings of water businesses to the choice of alternative physical and accounting capital input measures. Design/methodology/approach Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to compute efficiency rankings for government-owned water businesses from the state of Victoria, Australia, over the period 2005/2006 through 2012/2013. Differences between DEA models when capital inputs were measured using either: statutory accounting values (historic cost and fair value), physical measures, or regulatory accounting values, were scrutinised. Findings Depending on the choice of capital input, significant variation in efficiency scores and the ranking of the top (worst) performing firms was observed. Research limitations/implications Future research may explore the generalisability of findings to a wider sample of water utilities globally. Future work can also consider the most reliable treatment of capital inputs in efficiency analysis. Practical implications Regulators should be cautious when using economic efficiency data in benchmarking exercises. A consistent approach to account for the capital stock is needed in the determination of price caps and designing incentives for poor performers. Originality/value DEA has been widely used to explore the role of ownership structure, firm size and regulation on water utility efficiency. This is the first study of its kind to explore the sensitivity of DEA to alternative physical and accounting capital input measures. This research also improves the conventional performance measurement in water utilities by using a bootstrap procedure to address the deterministic nature of the DEA approach.

scholarly journals Optimal residential water conservation strategies considering related energy in California

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 4482-4498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvar Escriva-Bou ◽  
Jay R. Lund ◽  
Manuel Pulido-Velazquez
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Related Energy ◽  
Residential Water

scholarly journals Promoting Water Conservation: Where to from here?

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Moglia ◽  
Stephen Cook ◽  
Sorada Tapsuwan
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Smart Metering ◽  
Conservation Behavior ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Conservation Programs ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
International Water ◽  
Per Capita

This paper reports on a review of international water conservation efforts, but with a particular focus on the Australian context. The aim is to take stock of the current understanding of water conservation, in particular: what influences people’s decision to conserve water, what influences whether people persist with water conservation behavior and what contributes to awareness and familiarity of water conservation behaviors. We also explore how all these factors jointly can achieve water savings over time, and the efficacy of past efforts to save water. Subsequently, this is used to identify where leading practice for managing water conservation is heading, which we argue is the application of recent developments in behavioral science and advances in smart metering to personalize water conservation programs. To support individualized water conservation efforts, we need more longitudinal studies of water conservation behavior, a greater focus on behavioral science, as well as the development of modelling tools that embed insights and lessons of this research into decision support capability. This can help to develop the capacity to better implement water conservation programs that respond to short-term water scarcity crises, such as droughts, while also providing persistent reductions in per-capita water demand that can help meet strategic water planning needs, such as deferring or downsizing capital investment in supply infrastructure to accommodate demands associated with population growth.

scholarly journals Revealing Unreported Benefits of Digital Water Metering: Literature Review and Expert Opinions

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monks ◽  
Stewart ◽  
Sahin ◽  
Keller
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Australian Water ◽  
Expert Opinions ◽  
Monetary Benefit ◽  
Business Cases ◽  
Water Meters

Digital water meters can take Australian water utilities into the world of internet of things (IoT) and big data analytics. The potential is there for them to build more efficient processes, to enable new products and services to be offered, to defer expensive capital works, and for water conservation to be achieved. However, utilities are not mounting business cases with sufficient benefits to cover the project and operational costs. This study undertakes a literature review and interviews of industry experts in the search for unreported benefits that might be considered for inclusion in business cases. It identifies seventy-five possible benefits of which fifty-seven are classified as benefiting the water utility and forty are classified as benefiting customers (twenty-two benefit both). Many benefits may be difficult to monetize. Benefits to customers may have a small monetary benefit to the water utility but provide a significant benefit to customer satisfaction scores. However, for utilities to achieve these potential benefits, eight change enablers were identified as being required in their systems, processes, and resources. Of the seventy-five benefits, approximately half might be considered previously unreported. Finally, a taxonomy is presented into which the benefits are classified, and the enabling business changes for them to be realized are identified. Water utilities might consider the taxonomy, the benefits, and the changes required to enable the benefits when developing their business cases.

Water user survey on expectations of service in Guelph, ON, Canada

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 767-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Dziedzic ◽  
B. W. Karney
Keyword(s):  
Water System ◽  
User Survey ◽  
Conservation Programs ◽  
Openness To Change ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Aging Infrastructure ◽  
The City ◽  
Preferred Solutions ◽  
Residential Water

A survey was developed and conducted with residential water users in the City of Guelph, ON, Canada, with the objective of assessing their awareness, preferences, concerns, motivations, and priorities. The overall goal of this data is to improve the water system on different fronts: infrastructure, conservation programs, communication with users, and long-term strategies. Results highlight the local concerns with water scarcity, currently addressed by conservation programs, as well as water quality, aging infrastructure, and costs. Correlations between user type and answers were seldom found, showing that different residential customer segments share concerns and motivations. Even so, feedback must be sought from all customer segments, residential as well as industrial, commercial, and institutional, through different channels. The findings will allow the utility to identify preferred solutions to current issues and openness to change, as well as gaps in user and utility knowledge.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document