DCA Water Conservation Estimating Calculator

Overview: The DCA Water Conservation Estimating Calculator offers a simple way to estimate possible savings, both in water and
dollars that can be realized by implementing specific water conservation strategies, i.e. promoting water conservation devices, landscape
efficiency, and leak repair. A local official or advocate can enter the desired level at which a conservation strategy would be implemented in
their community and get a general estimate of how much water will be saved and the cost of implementing that strategy. Realizing that there
are many individually specific factors that go into the financial model of a water system, this calculator does not attempt to integrate these
calculated savings into the overall management structure of the system. Rather, using estimated water saving factors and averages from
several studies and the cost of simple water-saving devices this calculator is intended to give a general picture of what strategies might
provide the most savings and work best within the existing water system.
The numbers generated by this calculator are only one piece of the complicated water management puzzle, but they may provide the
impetus for looking more deeply into a specific water conservation strategy. The Water Conservation Estimating Calculator can be found on
the CD-ROM located in the Presentations/Videos on Water Management section of the toolkit or is available on DCAs web page,
www.dca.state.ga.us.

General Notes: The Water Conservation Estimating Calculator is an Excel spreadsheet divided into four worksheets (note the tabs at
the bottom). The user will be entering information and seeing the results in the Calculator worksheet. The Calculator Source Values
worksheet contains the values that are used to make the estimations. These values were taken from various studies and reports on water
conservation; the sources for this information are listed in the worksheet labeled Bibliography. These instructions can also be viewed
under the Instructions tab.
Red tabs indicate a note containing additional and/or interpretive information. Point the cursor arrow on the red tab in order to view this
information.

The worksheets in the calculator are protected. This means that it will not be possible to enter or change data anywhere outside of the
areas described above. Each worksheet can be unprotected by going to Tools, Protection, and choosing Unprotect Worksheet.
Landscape Efficiency and Water Conservation Information: The values for Promotion of Water Efficient Landscaping (Xeriscaping) and
Water Conservation Education & Promotion (estimated range) are included in the calculator mainly as reminders to incorporate these
strategies into any water conservation program. The values calculated under these two headings may be affected by many variables, and
therefore, should be considered only rough estimates. Nonetheless, outdoor water use is where the most amount of water is typically used
and should be addressed in every water conservation program.

Additional Considerations: On page two (at bottom) of the Water Conservation Calculator you will find blank boxes that will require
information from the local water manager. This information may not be as simple as these headings require it to be. Nonetheless, the cost
of treating both drinking and wastewater and the cost of improving or expanding infrastructure is integral information when trying to
determine the level at which your community should be engaging in water conservation. These blank boxes are included mainly as place
markers so that these costs are considered and a payback period for investing in the above water conservation strategies may be calculated.

Entering Data: Upon first view of the calculator, you will see that arbitrary default values have been entered for community population
and in the column entitled % of households installing devices. If you wish to change these default values, simply enter your communitys
population and adjust the percentage of households you wish to implement a particular strategy in the first column (light green column).
Doing this will give you an estimate of the total water savings potential for your community and how much your customized program would
cost.
The first five strategies listed (in purple) are all pertaining to toilet retrofits. For simplification, it is assumed that no more than one of these
strategies can be implemented on a particular toilet and that that toilet is the one most heavily used by a household (most households have
more than one toilet). Therefore, the percentage of households implementing these five strategies can not add up to more than 100%. An
Error message will appear if this happens.

User Tip: If you wish to see the water savings and cost of one particular water conservation strategy, enter zero for all the other strategies.

Other values in the calculator that you may want to change in order to get a more accurate fit to your community are located under the
Calculator Source Values tab. These include Conventional fixture water use and Average household size. For example, if your
community has a high percentage of newer homes (post 1992), then the Conventional fixture water use may be lower because all
construction after 1992 required installation of water efficient toilets (1.6gpf) and faucets(2.5gpm). So instead of the average being 5
gallons/flush it may be more like 3 gallons/flush. The figure used for average household size (2.65) may be adjusted upward if your
community has many young families. This average was taken from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.

NOTE: The worksheets in the calculator are protected. This means that it will not be possible to enter or change data anywhere outside of
the areas described above. Each worksheet can be unprotected by going to Tools, Protection, and choosing Unprotect Worksheet.

DCA Water Conservation Estimating Calculator

*Enter values into light green cells
Community Population

Water Conservation Strategy:

Tank Bank
Fill Cycle Diverter
Tank Dam
Flapper
Toilet Replacement with ULFT
Faucet Aerator
Low Flow Showerhead
Leak Drip Gauge/Leak Repair
Leak Detection Tablets/Repair

50,000

% of
Households
installing
devices

# of
Devices
Put into
Use

30.0%
20.0%
20.0%
15.0%
5.0%
50.0%
40.0%
20.0%
30.0%

Estimate of
Water
Savings per
Household
(gallons per
year)

Estimate of
Water System
Savings (gallons
per year)

Estimated
Program
Cost

Estimated
Cost/Gal of
Water Use
Reduction

5,660
3,774
7,547
2,830
943
9,434
7,547
3,774
5,660

3,869
4,353
12,091
14,509
16,443
6,529
12,091
3,468
3,468

21,900,000
16,425,000
34,433,962
15,495,283
5,853,774
23,242,925
34,433,962
13,084,906
19,627,358

$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$

3,340
1,849
28,075
5,349
65,802
16,887
13,208
377
1,245

$0.0001525
$0.0001126
$0.0008153
$0.0003452
$0.0112409
$0.0007265
$0.0003836
$0.0000288
$0.0000634

Subtotal

76,819

184,497,170

136,132

$0.0138689

Promotion of Water Efficient Landscaping (Xeriscaping)10

4,703

88,736,321

VARIES

Water Conservation Education & Promotion (estimated range)8

1,256
to
3,139

23,690,566
to
59,226,415

VARIES

Total Estimated Annual Water Savings (in gallons)

82,776
to
84,657

296,924,057
to
332,459,906

Additional Calculations That Should Be Made Depending On Data Availability

Cost of treating equivalent (to water saved) drinking water
Cost of treating equivalent (to water saved) waste water
Payback Period

Cost of Expanding Drinking

Water Treatment Capacity
Cost of Expanding Waste
Water Treatment Capacity
Money saved by
implementing water
conservation
strategy/delaying plant

The values used for calculations in this matrix are provided merely for illustrative purposes. While they are based on real figures taken from various studies and publications, they may vary with
local conditions.

Unit Costs6

Use Type

Conservation
Device

Toilet

Tank Bank
Fill Cycle Diverter
Tank Dam
Flapper
Toilet Replacement

Faucet
Showerhead

Aerator
Low Flow

Other Strategies

Average Savings
Per Capita Per
Day
Detection Tablets
$0.10
9.5
Drip Gauge
$0.22
9.5
Basic Water Conservation Information/Education
2% to 5% reduction in end use
Low water-use
plants
7.5% reduction in end use

Leak Repair4
Public Education8
Efficient
Landscaping5

Average Savings
from Conservation
Device
(gallons/flush or
gal/min)3

Water Savings
Per Day per
person resulting
from Installation
of [1] water
conserving device
(gallons)

Conventional
Fixture Water
Use
(gallons/flush
or gal/min)1

Average
Average
Rate of Use Household
(how people Size
use water in
flushes or
minutes per
day)2

$0.59
$0.49
$3.72
$1.89
$69.75

0.8
0.9
2.5
3
3.4

4
5
13
15
17

5
5
5
5
5

5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0

2.65
2.65
2.65
2.65
2.65

25.0
25.0
25.0
25.0
25.0

3,869
4,353
12,091
14,509
16,443

$1.79
$1.75

1.5
1.25

7
13

2.5
3.25

4.5
10.0

2.65
2.65

11.3
32.5

6,529
12,091

9.5
9.5

Total Water
Used by
Conventional
Fixtures (gal/
person/day)

Household Water
Savings Per year
resulting from
Installation of [1]
water conserving
device (gallons)

Information Sources:

These are averages of the range of water use rates of the given plumbing fixtures. E.g. toilets range from 1.6 gpf to 7 gpf. Some communities may have more new houses than old, and
therefore have less water being used by toilets. However, this average would vary considerably depending on the amount of new development in the community and should be adjusted). Amy
Vickers, "Water Use Efficiency Standards for Plumbing Fixtures: Benefits of National Legislation, " American Water Works Association Journal. Vol. 82 (May 1990):53. The average for faucets
and showerheads are based on the average of flow rates given by Duane D. Baumann, John J. Boland, and W. Michael Hanemann in "Urban Water Demand Management and Planning", 1998
2

Average of water use ranges given in "Urban Water Demand Management and Planning", Duane D. Baumann, John J. Boland, and W. Michael Hanemann, McGraw Hill, 1998, 254.

Niagara Conservation Product Catalog 2001, leak detection figure was taken from AWWARF Residential End Uses of Water Study, 1999. Fill cycle diverter average is taken from a study
conductd by Marriott International, Inc.
4
AWWARFResidential End Uses of Water Study Summary , 1999. This is an average only-it may very considerably depending on many factors.
5

EPA Office of Water, Water Conservation Plan Guidelines. Percentage reduction in end use. Actual water savings will depend on local conditions such as number of residents with yards, land
area of yards, local climate and soils.
6
Niagara Conservation Product Catalog 2001. These are unit prices. Large quantity purchases such as municipal retrofit programs, may result in reduced prices.
7

Cost does not reflect bulk quantity discounts. Customized "water-saving kits" that include several different fixtures can be assembled and specially priced for jurisdictions wishing to provide
these to their citizens.
8
Based on an average taken from the EPA Office of Wastewater Management (compiled from various undisclosed sources). This is provided just as a "place-marker" for public education; it is
understood that the savings resulting from public education will vary considerably (even more than the range of 2%-5% that EPA has come up with) with local demographics and conditions.
9

It is assumed that a water conservation device is used by mulitple users in a household, therefore an average household size of 2.65 is factored into the equation (# of devices
distributed*average savings per device*2.65) Average household size is taken from the U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000
10
EPA estimates that using water efficient landscapes can reduce a household's water use by 7.5 percent. This percent reduction is multiplied by the Average water use per capita times 365 to
attain the potential water savings that could result from efficient landscapes. There are many variables that could affect this result so this value should only be looked at as a rough estimate.
Nonetheless, outdoor water use is the number one water use by residents and should be considered a target in any water conservatio program.