Full Description

The goal of this study was to quantify savings specifically attributable to irrigation reduction measures. Three Ontario Regions participated in this program: Durham, Halton, and York. To avoid unnecessary duplication, however, this paper focuses only on the results achieved in the Region of Durham. Durham implemented a Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) program focused on reducing lawn watering by completing several face-to-face contacts with homeowners. College summer students met with area residents and provided lawn and gardening information. The students' goal was to erode irrigation habits that may have been developed and ingrained over years of repetition and peer pressure. Durham's 2000 program costs were approximately $44 (Canadian) including $38 in student wages and $6 in supplies. It is expected that the costs of implementing the program on a Regionwide basis would be reduced to $20 per household. Two residential areas were selected - each containing 300-500 homes. The selected irrigation reduction measure was implemented in one area (Study Area); nothing was implemented and no activity was changed in the other area (Control Area). The water distribution system in each area was analyzed and a series of valves are closed such that each area is supplied through a single watermain. The demands of each area are recorded at 5- minute intervals using electronic data loggers and insertion flow meters installed directly into the watermains. This type of bulk demand monitoring has two important advantages: it allows a large number of households to be monitored simultaneously; and, it eliminates the Hawthorne Effect (i.e., when participants alter their normal behavior due to the knowledge that their actions are being monitored). Demands between midnight and 6:00 a.m. were generally too low to be accurately recorded by insertion meters, however, almost no manual irrigation occured during this period. The program focused on analyzing water demands that occured between 6:00 a.m. and midnight. Precipitation and temperature data collected during the monitoring period provided an insight into the relationship between weather conditions and outdoor watering practices. Control Area data was used to separate various "non-measure" effects such as weather, news stories, etc. Includes table, figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 01/01/2002 Number of Pages: 7File Size: 1 file , 170 KB