AWWA CONS51053

This paper discusses how members of the Columbia-Willamette Water Conservation Coalition launched the Innovative Outdoor Water Survey Program as a pilot program in June 1997, to focus customers' attention on priorities for saving water, and through an equipment installation program, accomplish direct water savings. The program had a coalition of 5 utilities whose main objective was to reduce summer peak watering. The approach for this program involved providing a list of no more than three very important items for the customer to do. The surveyor would assess the greatest opportunities for water savings and provide more focused recommendations. A two-page Landscape Action Plan, with numbered priorities and clear instruction for implementing actions, was designed to eliminate customer confusion and make their implementation easier to understand and accomplish. In addition, the customer was given the report the day of the survey.