AWE Releases Water Conservation Tool

If you would like to start a water efficiency program, but don’t know where to begin — or would like to make more knowledgeable choices for an existing program — then the Alliance for Water Efficiency’s (AWE) water conservation tracking tool may just be the resource you need.

The tracking tool is a Microsoft® Excel-based model that can evaluate the water savings, costs and benefits of conservation programs for a specific water utility.

It compares alternative conservation measures for implementation along with evaluating the water savings, costs and benefits, and tracks them over time. It also evaluates a utility’s changing revenue requirements for conservation and help with developing long-range conservation plans. The tool’s library contains up to 50 separate conservation program activities.

AWE is making the tracking tool available free of charge to all Alliance for Water Efficiency members. A detailed user guide is included, and updates of the tool will be provided periodically by AWE.

For more information about the tool or how to become an AWE member, go to www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org.

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Free Workshop on the AWE Water Conservation Tracking Tool

Planning for long-term increases in water demand is a tricky business. So how does a utility company plan accurately for the future, meet efficiency goals, and avoid harmful revenue losses?

The New Mexico Water Conservation Alliance (NMWCA) and the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) are sponsoring a workshop to show you how to plan for future water demand using an exciting new tool developed by the AWE.

This water conservation tracking tool evaluates and tailors for each utility the results for water savings , costs and benefits of water conservation programs.  Mary Ann Dickinson, President and CEO of the AWE, will be in town to present the workshop on April 14 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Albuquerque Convention Center.   It’s free, but registration is required. Please contact Cheri Vogel at cheri.vogel@state.nm.us or 505-827-4272 for more details and to register for the workshop. 

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ABCWUA 2009 Water Festival: It Takes a Community

	Creating Clouds
	Bagher Dayyani
	Dr. Suzanne Pierce
	Julie Filatoff

Creating clouds, learning about the water/energy connection, and turning river water into drinking water were topics covered in the 11th annual Children’s Water Festival on October 22 and 23 at the Albuquerque Convention Center. More than 1000 fourth graders from schools all over Albuquerque participated in the event, which is just part of the extensive K-12 outreach program sponsored by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA).

Twenty-three different activities were presented each day, five per classroom. ABCWUA sponsors the event and provides many volunteers who come from private businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions — about 200 altogether.

Who are these volunteers? Let’s introduce a few.

Bagher Dayyani from ABCWUA Surface Water Plant taught an activity called Engineering Clean Water. Students used critical thinking to figure out the correct order of steps used to clean river water. They devised a process to clean a bucket of pretend water (glass beads). When thanked for teaching, Dayyani responded, “It is a great joy working for this fine utility and being able to share water conservation ideas with kids.”

Barbara Romero from ABCWUA customer service taught Water Accounts Count where students graphed a year of water bills to discover who is a water hog and who should be rewarded by the Water Fairies. (Photo: left, Stephanie Moore from Daniel B Stephens; right, Kim Davis from ABCWUA).

Ben Zimmerman from ABCWUA Pollution Prevention (far left) and his crew (middle, Alex Salazar; far right, Alex Lovato) put nasty chemicals on trial for contaminating our wastewater stream in their activity, Water Court. When asked why they felt teaching students about wastewater was important, Lovato responded, “My grandson lives here. I want a better, cleaner environment for him.” Victoria Delgado (not shown) added, “It’s rewarding! It makes me feel good to teach kids how to protect their water.”

Dr. Suzanne Pierce, Center for Environmental Science Institute (University of Texas at Austin), feels so strongly about the message of her activity that she brought two of her graduate students to help her teach this year. Their activity, Energy Drink, teaches kids that saving energy saves water too. One of her grad students, Phil Levasseur, said he was there because “stewardship and conservation start at an early age.” He remembered how his life was changed by making a simple marble track in the third grade. It made him decide to be a scientist. Levasseur wants to inspire kids to learn about science and how it can help us become stewards of our land and water.

High school students from School on Wheels and the Del Norte High School EARTH Club presented Water Olympics, an activity that teaches kids about the properties of water. They said they enjoyed being role models for younger kids as well as teaching about the importance of water.

Julie Filatoff, HDR Engineering, Inc., taught students how dirty water can be cleaned using a five-step process. She said her company values the time she spent teaching at the festival, not only because of her message, but also because it makes her part of the Albuquerque community. Filatoff said she wants kids to learn that they can help control some aspects of keeping water clean, like picking up dog poop and not pouring chemicals on the ground.

Sandia National Labs sent volunteers such as Ken Morris to teach about issues like Why the River Runs Brown that explains how watersheds can influence water quality. Morris took a vacation day to be a timer, making sure students were in the right workshop at the right time. He feels that volunteering is an important way to help his community, and he knows how important teaching is; his wife is a teacher.

Deirdre Kann and Maria Torres work for the National Weather Service. They taught students how to make clouds and felt their time at the Water Festival was well spent because they helped kids understand about Albuquerque’s flashfloods. Their most important message was “stay out of the arroyos.”

These are just a few of the wonderful volunteers who helped make the ABCWUA 2009 Children’s Water Festival exceptional. If you would like more information about the festival or the outreach programs in the schools, contact Sharon Sivinski at 768-3245, or visit abcwua.org and click on “Education.”

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Mark Your Calendars! The Water and Energy Summit and Expo is Coming to Santa Fe in April

This April from the 24th to the 27th, you’ll want to attend the Santa Fe Water and Energy Summit and Expo that will host a slew of events for both the public and water conservation professionals. All programs will be hosted by the City of Santa Fe Water Division and the Santa Fe County Water Conservation Program to be held at the Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza.

The purpose of the Summit and Expo is two-fold: To enlighten the public and professional communities on the close relationship between water and energy and to promote resource conservation. The event has three segments:

• The Water and Energy Expo

• The Water and Energy Summit

• The American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) two-day accreditation course

The Water and Energy Expo, held the weekend of April 24 and 25, is a free public program that will feature more than 30 presentations, plus information booths from more than 40 local businesses and nonprofits. Topics to be presented include:

• Water-Savvy Drip Irrigation

• Solar Oven Cooking

• How to Perform a Water Conservation Audit

• How to Perform an Energy Audit

• Composting and Mulching 

In addition, nationally known rainwater harvesting author and advocate, Brad Lancaster, will give a talk titled Why Think of Passive Rainwater Harvesting First. There is no cost to attend the Expo.

The Water and Energy Summit, held Monday and Tuesday, April 26 and 27, is designed for professionals working in the water and energy conservation fields. The proposed list of speakers includes leading experts in water and energy conservation (such as Brad Lancaster), Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists, and elected community officials and other representatives from local and state government. Professionals who attend will receive Continuing Education Credits (CEUs). The cost for the Summit is $195 for both days, or $100 per day.

Also held on April 24 and 25 will be an American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) two-day accreditation course. This workshop is designed for individuals wanting to pursue a career in rainwater management and is open to any community member or industry professional looking to attain the ARCSA Accredited Professional designation. Topics include:

• Basics of rainwater catchment design and installation

• In-home rainwater use

• Sanitation for potable uses

• Rules and regulations, guidelines and restrictions

• Business management

• Project planning

• Site and installation safety

• System construction and maintenance 

The cost to attend this workshop is $295.

All three of these events will improve participants’ understanding of the vital connection between water and energy, as well as demonstrate how conservation of one has a positive effect on conservation of the other. Members of the public will receive practical tips to conserve resources and will have opportunities to connect with professionals in the field who can advise and assist in conservation efforts.

The Summit, Expo, and ARCSA workshop will be held in downtown Santa Fe at the Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza, 100 Sandoval Street. The Expo will also offer booths and workshops in the county parking lot one block north of the Hilton on Sandoval (where the road curves to the east, near the intersection of Sandoval and West Palace Avenue).

For more information call (505) 577-8899, or coming soon: www.water2conserve/water_energy.com.

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Acoustic Logger Leak Detection Project

	Ruben Archuleta and Rob Paynter check for cleanliness at a fire hydrant water valve

Through funding received from the Governor’s Water Innovation Fund, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer (NMOSE) and the City of Rio Rancho agreed to jointly implement an acoustic logger leak detection project to quantify real water losses in the city drinking water distribution system. The cities of Ruidoso and Las Vegas are also participating in the project.

The project will conduct a pre- and post- water audit and install 100 acoustic leak loggers. After the project, the 100 loggers, along with the equipment used will become city property. NMOSE will work with Rio Rancho utility to locate and evaluate leaks identified for potential water recovery and evaluate potential volume of water saved, including cost of water and energy saved. The final report is expected in June 2010.

	Deploying an acoustic leak detection logger

For more information about this project, please contact Marian Wrage at mwrage@ci.rio-rancho.nm.us.

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