AWWA SOURCES59226

This paper discusses San Antonio's water conservation program, which has been very successful. Per capita water use has been reduced by over 35% since the mid '80s. The water use normalized for wet years in 2002 and 2003 is about 140 gallons per person per day. Actual per capita was 126 gallons/day in 2002 and 130 in 2003. About 10 gallons of that low rate is due to higher than normal rain in the two years. The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) spends about $5 per citizen served on water conservation. Funding for residential programs comes from $.09/100 gallons of all water used in the 4th tier of the rate system. The highest residential water users fund the Conservation program. Commercial conservation programs are funded by a monthly meter fee assessed to every commercial meter. The two dedicated funds provide about $7 million dollars of revenue each year. The funding is used to provide a diverse mix of incentives, education, and enforcement that supplement the conservation impact of the increasing block rate system. The goal is to involve every person in the SAWS water realm in the Conservation program. Residential programs include youth and adult education programs, landscape rebates, several types of toilet rebates, Plumbers to People, Season to Save Community Challenge, rain sensor rebates, hot water on demand rebate, Seasonal Irrigation Program (SIP), washing machine rebates, and free indoor and outdoor audits. Commercial programs include large-scale retrofits, irrigation design rebates, cooling tower audits, hotel linen program, low-flow toilet distribution, recycled water, Golf Fore SA, certification programs, rainwater harvesting models, and air conditioning condensate models. Events and sponsorships bring conservation information and technology to audiences of several million people with a diverse set of interests including landscaping, gardening, music, sports, youth activities, and environmental gatherings. Every citizen in the SAWS area is expected to fulfill their water conservation responsibility. To ensure that all are reached and that the programming offers something for everyone, SAWS staffs the Community Conservation Committee (CCC) and has a large media presence. Includes table, figures.