Soft ware for Analyzing Municipal Water Data to Design Water Conservation Strategies

Abstract

Software for Analyzing Municipal Water Data to Design Water Conservation Strategies by Adrian Welsh, Master of Science Utah State University, 2011 Co-Major Professors: Dr. Joanna Endter-Wada, Dr. Christopher M.U. Neale Department: Environment and Society Planning for drought and growth-induced water scarcity is a challenge confronting municipal water departments. When water shortages occur, demand management policies and programs are often implemented to encourage water conservation. Due to the nature of water resources and municipal water delivery systems, cities are concerned about meeting citizens’ water needs. A city can review water billing records to see how much water people use, but how do they know how much water people need? Standards and guidelines have been established for indoor water use (gallons/person/day), but the amount of water needed to irrigate outdoor landscapes is more variable, highly contextualized, and harder to determine. To aid in answering that question, this project developed a custom software application, Landscape Water Use Software, which allows water billing data to be integrated with GIS and other types of municipal databases. Using GIS and remotely sensed images gives the software a strong spatial component for use of parcel, structure, and land cover data. The resulting output shows how actual landscape water use compares with estimated landscape water need, which is then used to determine capacity to conserve outdoor water. The software can display spatial patterns and 4 analyze factors contributing to water use variation. This project will help cities design landscape water conservation programs that have the greatest potential for water savings.