Water Conservation Plan Guidelines Summary
On August 6, 1998, EPA issued guidelines for water conservation
plans for public water systems. States may require water systems
to submit a water conservation plan consistent with the EPA or any
other guidelines as a condition of receiving a loan under the Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund (SRF). The guidelines contain step-by-step
approaches and conservation measures that can be used by water system
planners to develop and implement plans for water conservation.
Strategic use of water conservation can help extend the value and
life of infrastructure assets used in both water supply and wastewater
treatment, while also extending the beneficial investment of public
funds through the SRF and other programs. This page serves as a
summary for the guidelines. To see the whole document, please visit
Water Conservation Plan Guidelines
page.
SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT PROVISION
Section 1455 of the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water
Act (SDWA) requires EPA to publish in the Federal Register guidelines
for water conservation plans for public water systems of various
sizes and to take into consideration such factors as water availability
and climate. The SDWA also provides that states may require water
systems applying for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans
to submit a conservation plan as a condition of receiving a loan.
APPROACH
EPA invited broad-based participation in the development of the
guidelines. A public workshop was convened in September 1997 as
the first opportunity to obtain input on this important issue. We
also formed a subcommittee under the Local Government Advisory Committee
to obtain input on our efforts. Subcommittee representation included
state agencies, local governments, water utilities, environmental
groups, and various industry and public interest groups. The subcommittee
held five open meetings to develop recommendations for submission
to the Agency. Public comments and subcommittee recommendations
mainly focused on the need to simplify the basic guidelines and
the limiting effect of compartmentalizing measures. Several commenters
felt that more measures should be recommended for small systems.
EPA made changes to the guidelines to address those comments.
On August 6, 1998, we announced the availability of the final guidelines
in the Federal Register. Printed copies of the guidelines are available
from the Office of Water Resource Center (202-260-7786) or electronically
on this Web page.
THE GUIDELINES
The Water Conservation Plan Guidelines are addressed to water system
planners but use of the guidelines is not required by federal law
or regulation. States and Indian tribes decide whether or not to
require water systems to file conservation plans consistent with
these or any other guidelines. Although a voluntary provision, the
guidelines may help bring conservation into the mainstream of water
utility capital facility planning. The infrastructure needs of the
nation's water systems are great. Strategic use of water conservation
can help extend the value and life of infrastructure assets used
in both water supply and wastewater treatment, while also extending
the beneficial investment of public funds through the SRF and other
programs.
The first part of the guidelines provides information to the states
about their nature and possible use. A number of topics are addressed:
integrating water conservation and infrastructure planning, water
conservation planning criteria, guidelines and measures; state roles;
and current state programs. Also discussed is a modified approach
for very small systems that suggests states assist systems' water
conservation planning and implementation as part of their capacity-development
efforts required by SDWA. The second part, written for water systems,
is an overview of the organization, content and use of the guidelines.
The next three parts of the document contain the guidelines: Basic,
Intermediate, and Advanced. These categories correspond generally
to system size:
- The Basic Guidelines are geared to systems serving fewer than
10,000 people.
- The Intermediate Guidelines are appropriate for systems serving
between 10,000 and 100,000 people.
- The Advanced Guidelines are for systems serving more than 100,000
people.
- Which guidelines are appropriate also may depend on various
factors and conditions affecting water systems and their need
for conservation planning. For example, mid-sized systems with
constrained water supply resources may want to follow the Advanced
Guidelines.
The Basic Guidelines contain five simplified planning steps. The
Intermediate and Advanced Guidelines follow nine planning steps.
Within several of the steps, there are variations in the scope of
the analysis and the amount of detail required. The nine steps are:
- Specify Conservation Planning Goals
- Develop a Water System Profile
- Prepare a Demand Forecast
- Describe Planned Facilities
- Identify Water Conservation Measures
- Analyze Benefits and Costs
- Select Measures
- Integrate Resources and Modify Forecasts
- Present Implementation and Evaluation Strategy
- The water conservation measures are arranged in three levels.
Level 1 recommends four categories of minimum measures for consideration
for the Basic Guidelines. Levels 2 and 3 contain additional measures
and categories, and are recommended for consideration in the Intermediate
and Advanced Guidelines, respectively. The three levels and the
measures included in each are:
Level 1 Measures
- Universal metering
- Water accounting and loss control
- Costing and pricing
- Information and education
Level 2 Measures
- Water-use audits
- Retrofits
- Pressure management
- Landscape efficiency
Level 3 Measures
- Replacements and promotions
- Reuse and recycling
- Water-use regulation
- Integrated resource management
The last part of the document contains six appendixes of supporting
information: detailed descriptions of conservation measures, conservation
benchmarks, acronyms and a glossary, information resources, funding
sources, and state contacts.
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