East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Water Conservation Baseline
Study
The East Bay Municipal Utility District Water Conservation Baseline Study
was conducted to gain knowledge about baseline conditions of the EBMUD
service area, with respect to water-using hardware, water-using behaviors,
and conservation attitudes. The goal was to provide the EBMUD water conservation
planners with information to design the most cost-effective conservation
programs and to provide feedback regarding ongoing conservation program
efforts. The scope of the study was to determine water use characteristics
of seven customer groups:
- single-family
- multifamily
- hotels/motels
- restaurants
- office buildings
- schools
- hospitals
PMCL developed a sampling approach based on EBMUD customer information
to provide a representative sample in each customer group. For each of
the seven customer groups, PMCL designed a sampling plan that was both
geographically representative and representative of water use patterns
within each customer group. Site surveys were conducted to record the
presence of and parameters for all indoor and outdoor water uses for the
seven customer groups. In addition, a residential telephone survey was
conducted to determine the extent of water conservation taking place as
well as the household's willingness and motivation to conserve water.
Statistical analyses were performed on the data collected from each of
the seven customer groups to derive such descriptive statistics as frequency
distributions and measures of central tendency. Tests of statistical differences
were performed on the data collected from the telephone survey. Either
a chi-square or a t-test was performed to determine if there were significant
differences in the water conservation attitudes and activities of respondents
between east and west residency, multifamily and single-family households,
high and low income, and between renters and owners of households. These
same statistical analyses were performed on the data collected from the
single-family site survey. The tests were performed to determine if there
were significant differences in the presence of and parameters for particular
end uses between high and low income survey participants and east and
west residents.
As part of the Baseline Study, PMCL provided recommendations for an ongoing
monitoring and evaluation plan for the EBMUD water conservation program.
The recommended plan included three primary components: (1) water use
monitoring program, (2) water efficiency monitoring program, and (3) special
studies and periodic surveys.
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