EPA Drought Response and Recovery
Reducing Customer Water Demand
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11/2/15
Video
BROLL – Consumers using water,
Audio
NARRATOR V/O: A key part of any drought
signage encouraging conservation
response involves reducing customer water
demand and promoting conservation. Across
the country, water utilities are finding
innovative ways to save water.
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TEXT ID:
TAHMASSEBI: [00:00:35] The best bang for
SABA TAHMASSEBI
the buck when it comes to water supply and
Agency Chief Engineer
drought is to do conservation.
Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality
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TEXT ID:
VANESSA MARQUEZ: [00:10:40] We used to
Vanessa Marquez
use an average of 4.5 million gallons per day.
Water Conservation Specialist
In the year 2010, we dropped down to 2.5
City of Las Vegas, New Mexico
million gallons per day. And now as we speak,
we're at 1.5 million gallons per day.
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Broll Water reservoirs, plants, etc.
BERNIE KITTEN: [00:09:37] That percent
that you decrease is a new water source.
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TEXT ID:
BERNIE KITTEN: [00:17:29] It's like a long-
Bernie Kitten
term water supply.
Director of Utilities
Hays, Kansas
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EPA Branded Statement
NARRATOR V/O: EPA engaged several small
to medium-sized drought-impacted utilities to
identify lessons learned and outline effective
strategies to increase resilience to drought.
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TITLE GRAPHICS
NARRATOR: Drought Response and Recovery
EPA Drought Response and Recovery
Reducing Customer Water Demand
Reducing Customer Water Demand
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Broll of communities, conservation
CSC/Rock Creek Productions
NARRATOR V/O: Many communities promote
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EPA Drought Response and Recovery
Reducing Customer Water Demand
#
Video
signs
11/2/15
Audio
voluntary conservation as their first line of
defense against drought. Providing
customers with incentive programs can make
a big difference in reducing their water use.
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VANESSA MARQUEZ: [00:05:32] We do give
away free low-flow water-saving kits. This
consists of a showerhead, kitchen sink
aerator, bathroom sink aerator, and also a
toilet tank bank.
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TEXT ID:
JASON RIEGEL: [00:06:30] Every little bit
Jason Riegel
counts. People think, "Well, it's just one
Water Conservation Specialist
shower head. How's that one shower head
City of Hays, Kansas
gonna save the world?" It's certainly not
gonna save the world, but if you and 50 other
people do it, that's going to save an acre-foot
of water. And if you and 500 other people do
it, it compounds.
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TEXT ID:
TOBY DOUGHERTY: [00:30:00] We know if
Toby Dougherty
we get 30 people to convert their regular
City Manager, Hays, Kansas
washing machine to a high-efficiency, that
saves an acre -foot of water.
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TOBY DOUGHERTY: [00:30:00] If we get 40
people to convert a normal toilet to a high
efficiency toilet, that saves an acre-feet of
water.
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Broll
TOBY DOUGHTERY: [00:30:30] (But) when
Lawn watering
you look at the quantifying acre-foot per
savings, lawns are by far the lowest hanging
fruit.
CSC/Rock Creek Productions
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EPA Drought Response and Recovery
Reducing Customer Water Demand
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Video
11/2/15
Broll
Audio
JASON RIEGEL: [00:05:30] Our current
‘Cash for Grass’ signage
program that we've been touting and has had
tremendous success with, is the "Cash for
Grass" turf conversion program.
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TEXT ID:
DARREN RIEDEL: [00:01:00] Xeriscaping is
Darren Riedel
taking out that green grass, like a fescue or
Owner, Riedel Garden Center
bluegrass, and put it in soft rolling berms,
Hays, Kansas
mulch, rock, drip irrigation to all the trees and
shrubs, and basically just conserving a
tremendous amount of water in their
landscape.
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BROLL Darren inspecting Xeriscaped
DARREN RIEDEL: [00:05:03] You're saving
plants
75% to 80% on water, converting that fescue
lawn to xeriscaping.
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BROLL Mandatory Restriction
NARRATOR V/O: When voluntary
Signage
conservation doesn’t bring in the needed
reduction, many communities enact
mandatory water use restrictions.
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TEXT ID:
BILL STANKIEWICZ: [00:10:29] We put in
Bill Stankiewicz
not only odd even systems for watering. We
Mayor
banned washing of cars. We put in water
City of Hogansville, GA
conservation rates. If you used beyond so
many gallons, I believe it's 3,000 gallons of
water a month, your rate went up. All in an
attempt to conserve water.
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TOBY DOUGHERTY: [00:07:34] We have
ordinances prohibiting water waste running
off of the property. So if you've seen
sprinklers that are irrigating the street, or
CSC/Rock Creek Productions
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EPA Drought Response and Recovery
Reducing Customer Water Demand
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Video
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Audio
somebody's washing their car and they have
the hose running, it's just running down the
driveway into the street, there's actually
ordinances preventing that.
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TEXT ID
TOM TROTT: [06:50:00] ...if you are notified
Tom Trott
that you have a leak on your side, you have
General Manager, Twain Harte
seven days to fix it or we'll have to shut your
Community Services District.
water off.
Broll
NARRATOR V/O: Whether water use
Newspapers, handouts, fliers
reductions are voluntary or mandatory,
inspiring customers to take action depends on
effective communication.
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TEXT ID:
DARREN BARKER: …probably the one thing
Darrin Barker
that you can't do enough of is you continually
General Manager
have to keep your customers informed.
Corix Utilities, Texas
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VANESSA MARQUEZ: [00:01:02] We ran
radio ads. We actually get on the radio quite
often and broadcast live. We created a
conservation page for the younger
generations, Facebook, to try to keep them
informed.
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TEXT ID:
DON COLE: [00:10:01] In addition, we have a
Don Cole
conservation specialist that goes out and
Water Systems Manager, City of Las
speaks to the students, talks to elementary
Vegas Utilities Department
kids. That's where it starts, teaching them
Las Vegas, New Mexico
from young ages.
TEXT ID:
ALLEN ROBERTS: [00:04:30] The kids
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EPA Drought Response and Recovery
Reducing Customer Water Demand
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Allen Roberts
Audio
absolutely took the message home to their
Assistant Superintendent of Support
parents. … So the education part wasn't just
Services
our faculty and staff. Again, it was the parents
Spicewood Beach, Texas
and the community all working together to
what we could do to make sure that we had
enough water in the community to get by…
[00:06:30] and there were days that there
were actually households that used more
water than we did in the full day at school
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BROLL - Industries using water
NARRATOR V/O For many communities,
(Sierra Pacific Logging – Tuolumne)
having industrial customers and other large
users reduce their demand is just as
important as having residential and business
customers conserve.
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MARQUEZ: [00:15:01] I'll get together with
the bigger institutions, the ones that are using
a lot more water, we'll sit down and we'll
create a conservation plan to see if they can
help reduce their water consumption and a
lot of the times we find that it's very helpful.
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BROLL
KAYCIE WILLIAMS: [00:00:30] Mars Petcare
Mars Plant Signage, plant, grounds
is a business segment of Mars Incorporated.
We manufacture dog and cat food… During
that manufacturing process, we can use
upwards to 16 million gallons a year.
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TEXT ID:
KAYCIE WILLIAMS: [00:03:30] We just
Kaycie Williams
stopped our irrigation efforts here at the site.
Senior Manager of Corporate
We also stepped up our efforts and found
Communications
ways to reduce our water consumption with
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EPA Drought Response and Recovery
Reducing Customer Water Demand
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Mars Petcare, Clinton, OK
11/2/15
Audio
our cleaning processes while still maintaining
our quality and food safety standards. Also
this site has been fast tracked for our water
reuse project.
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TEXT ID:
MARK LUSTER: “Sierra Pacific Industries,
Mark Luster
we're third generation forest products
Community Relations Manager Sierra industry company…” [04:43:22] In order to
Pacific Industries.
run this plant, we require water. If we don't
Tuolumne, California
have water, this plant basically gets shut
down.
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BROLL – Sierra Pacific logging plant;
MARK LUSTER: [00:37:13] One of the things
water spraying on logs, retention
that we do in order to preserve water is that
pond
we are able to recycle it. So any water that
goes onto our logs, we recycle that. We use a
waterfront co-generation power plant, as well.
That's a closed loop system, so we take that
back to the system again.
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TEXT ID
MIKE SPEAR: [03:51:15] We used a lot of
Mike Spear
water in years past. So, we've implemented
Fire Captain,
what we call … dry mop. We would use more
Tuolumne Calavares Unit, Cal Fire
of the dirt and scrapping the burnt material,
the foliage and the trees and, the brush, that
had been burned.
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MIKE SPEAR: [03:06:08] ... we had our
firefighters in the stations limiting their use of
water, not only in the showers but washing
vehicles.
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BROLL – Water conservation
NARRATOR V/O: In the end, reducing water
measures.
demand takes a united effort from residential
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EPA Drought Response and Recovery
Reducing Customer Water Demand
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Video
11/2/15
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customers, businesses and the water system
itself. Once engaged, communities typically
rise to the challenge.
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TOM TROTT: [11:52:12] Start early. As early
as you can and give the public as much
information as you can. I think what I found is
people are ready to come on board. People
want to make a difference. They want to come
together but they need the information
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EPA Ending (PROPOSED)
NARRATOR V/O: Explore EPA’s Drought
Stock images of drought mitigation
Response and Recovery Guide for additional
activities.
ways to make your utility more drought
resilient at:
Ending Branding Graphic w/EPA Seal
and URL
W-W-W dot E-P-A dot Gov slash water utility
www.epa.gov/
response.
waterutilityresponse
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