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Effect of Commodity Charges on the Demand for Reclaimed Water
Author(s) -
Knight Scott L.,
Morales Miguel A.,
Heaney James P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.5942/jawwa.2015.107.0131
Subject(s) - reclaimed water , commodity , irrigation , water resource management , potable water , environmental science , water use , environmental engineering , agricultural economics , natural resource economics , business , economics , wastewater , agronomy , finance , biology
Residential irrigation with reclaimed water is one method to reduce potable water withdrawals in the United States. However, little research has examined how customers use this often low‐cost or free water. This study evaluates the change in water use for 510 reclaimed water customers who were converted from a flat rate to a commodity charge. Using actual water use data and an irrigation model, two metrics of efficiency were developed: portion of landscape needs satisfied and efficiency of application. After the commodity charge began, the reclaimed water customers decreased their use by 47% and improved the efficiency of their application by 12%. However, annually, between 14 and 27% of the users increased use compared with the flat‐rate period. The impact of irrigable area was also evaluated and showed that customers with smaller irrigable areas were less efficient (26%) than those with larger irrigable areas (52%).