Aurora Water Demand Management Study

Douglas Kenney (Douglas.kenney@colorado.edu)
Chris Goemans
Jessica Lowrey
Bobbie Klein

Introduction
 Aurora Water has implemented a variety of demand management strategies in the past 4 years that collectively have produced a significant reduction in municipal water demand.  Researchers from the Western Water Assessment (WWA) in cooperation with Aurora Water are conducting an analysis of Aurora Water’s billing database over the past eight years, focusing on the residential sector which showed the highest level of response, in an effort to provide insight into as many of the following questions as we are able to: 

1. What are the demographic characteristics (age, household size, income level, etc) of customers who have most significantly reduced water demand in response to various water demand management strategies in recent years?  What are the characteristics of customers who have not responded as directly to demand management efforts?  What demographic characteristics best explain water use behavior?

Understanding the demographic characteristics of those who do and do not conserve at various levels is not only key to evaluating Aurora Water conservation programs, but informs research aimed at projecting trends in future demand. In this way, programs that have enhanced effectiveness can be identified and refined.

2. What are the demographic characteristics of people who participate in specific conservation programs (attending xeriscape classes, receiving irrigation audits/rebates or water saving appliance rebates)?  How does participation in a conservation program impact monthly household water demand?   

The purpose of these questions is to better understand the relationship between existing conservation programs and overall trends in urban water demand.  The results of these studies not only help guide decisions about which programs to expand or contract and how to better target future programs, but also provide a point of comparison (and a necessary control) for studies that focus on the effect of pricing strategies on water demand. 

3. How does having a Water Smart Reader (WSR) impact monthly household water demand?

The assumption in the water demand literature is that customer ignorance about real-time water use quantities and customer billing frequency limit the effectiveness of pricing tools and related water demand management strategies.  Aurora has distributed devices (Water Smart Readers) that permit individual households to track their real-time water use, providing an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate the relationship between that kind of information and customer demand. 

4. How does irrigation technology impact monthly household water demand in the summer?  How does weather influence the observed outdoor demand patterns?

This study will identify the impact of different types of irrigation technology on outdoor water demand.  We will compare water use by households that use automatic sprinklers with use by households that do not have automatic sprinklers.  As part of this research, we will consider the impact of weather on each group’s outdoor water use—e.g., is one group more responsive to weather cycles?  The answers will assist in better understanding patterns of outdoor water use, the opportunities to better manage that demand, and the outdoor demand management patterns to expect from homeowners with different types of irrigation technology.

5. How do Aurora’s different residential pricing policies impact monthly household water demand?

We will identify the timing and magnitude of system-wide and customer-specific water pricing changes, and correlate these events to observed changes (if any) in demand, while controlling for other non-price influences such as weather and participation in conservation programs.  A key area of interest is establishing whether there is a significant change of response between the various pricing strategies that have been employed.
 
Project Publications and Presentations

Kenney, Douglas S., Christopher Goemans, Roberta Klein, Jessica Lowrey, and Kevin Reidy, 2008. Residential Water Demand Management: Lessons from Aurora, Colorado. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 44(1):192-207.

Residential Water Demand in Aurora, Colorado: Lessons Learned and Remaining Questions, Douglas Kenney
Presentation           Paper

Goemans, C, Residential Water Demand: Lessons from Aurora, Colorado, CAPSW, Chapel Hill, NC, March 4-6, 2008.

 

 

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