Chris Dewey
Florida Friendly Landscaping (TM) Program Coordinator, Pasco County Extension
- New Port Richey, Florida
- United States
Topics
6 Comment
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Re: Norming behavior examples for high household water users
2016-01-28 09:26:14 UTC
In development of the program I described in an earlier post, I have used direct mail, email, voice mail and direct phone contact to offer free irrigation assistance to high water users . Direct mail resulted in a response rate about what you would expect from commercial direct mail campaigns (1-3%). I use email when billing information includes that information and listed phone numbers are disconnected or wrong numbers or exceedance of target water use is less than 10,000 gallons per month. I leave a voice mail message when direct phone contact is unsuccessful. Everything other than direct phone contact results in a very low response rate similar (<5%) to direct (snail) mail. Direct phone contact, however, results in a quite high positive response of 10-50%when assurance is given that I am indeed working with the utility, there is not cost involved and nobody is trying to sell them anything. In my experience, the main barrier overcome by direct phone contact is that most people assume that they are being contacted ( by mail, email or voicemail) in order to sell a product or service (despite clearly identifying myself as a government entity) and also find it hard to believe that someone ( especially government) would contact them to identify a problem and offer a solution without charge. In customer contact cards ( mailed back to the county) left with every client, 100% rate the service as excellent and highly praise county government and the Utility for providing such a valuable service to their citizen clients.
Chris Dewey
Florida Friendly Landscaping (TM) Program Coordinator
Pasco County Extension
United States -
Re: Norming behavior examples for high household water users
2016-01-22 10:59:57 UTC
1. How are you defining your top users? High water use is defined as more than 15,000 gallons per month. Utility Billing records are used to identify users of more than 25,000 gallons per month. 2. Do you adjust for lot size, family size or any other factors? Property appraiser data is used to identify pervious area. All pervious area is assumed to be irrigated at 3/4" per week (2 gallons per sq. ft. per month). Indoor water use is assumed to be around 2,000 gal. per month per person. 3 persons per household is assumed. If actual water use for the 2 most recent billing periods is greater than 10,000 gallons over the target water use for the property, then proactive contact is initiated. 3. How do you contact them? Homeowners are contacted by email if available and by phone if no email is available for the account. Voicemail message is left if direct phone contact is not achieved. The message offers FREE onsite assistance with irrigation system including controller programming. Education on irrigation and landscaping is provided along with publications from the University of Florida on landscape management and plant selection plus rain gauge and irrigation calibration tool (tuna can glued to a 6 inch nail). 4. Can you send your script or marketing collateral you use in your outreach? For email - yes For voicemail, the script is brief to identify as non-commercial, free, associated with the Utility and offering assistance. 5. Have you tested to determine effectiveness? All outreach recipients continue to be monitored after outreach and results compared to average water use prior to outreach. Average results are a reduction in irrigation water use of 10,000+ gallons per month that persists indefinitely. Annual results from 1 person monitoring billing records, initiating contact and delivering outreach and subsequent monitoring results in saving around 25 million gallons per year from 200 accounts. This saves customers about $250,000 per year and increases revenue to the utility by another $250,000 per year due to the saved water being available to new construction accounts that benefit from customer charge, water charge and sewer charge instead of just the water charge at the highest rate of $5.55 per 1,000 gallons. 6. Any suggestions on implementing a similar program? Access to billing records is essential which requires close cooperation with Utility Management and is welcome because it increases customer service and reduces customer complaints. Many customer complaints that can be associated with irrigation are referred for assistance by Customer service representatives. ,1. How are you defining your top users?
High water use is defined as more than 15,000 gallons per month. Utility Billing records are used to identify users of more than 25,000 gallons per month.
2. Do you adjust for lot size, family size or any other factors?
Property appraiser data is used to identify pervious area. All pervious area is assumed to be irrigated at 3/4" per week (2 gallons per sq. ft. per month). Indoor water use is assumed to be around 2,000 gal. per month per person. 3 persons per household is assumed. If actual water use for the 2 most recent billing periods is greater than 10,000 gallons over the target water use for the property, then proactive contact is initiated.
3. How do you contact them?
Homeowners are contacted by email if available and by phone if no email is available for the account. Voicemail message is left if direct phone contact is not achieved. The message offers FREE onsite assistance with irrigation system including controller programming. Education on irrigation and landscaping is provided along with publications from the University of Florida on landscape management and plant selection plus rain gauge and irrigation calibration tool (tuna can glued to a 6 inch nail).
4. Can you send your script or marketing collateral you use in your outreach?
For email - yes For voicemail, the script is brief to identify as non-commercial, free, associated with the Utility and offering assistance.
5. Have you tested to determine effectiveness?
All outreach recipients continue to be monitored after outreach and results compared to average water use prior to outreach. Average results are a reduction in irrigation water use of 10,000+ gallons per month that persists indefinitely. Annual results from 1 person monitoring billing records, initiating contact and delivering outreach and subsequent monitoring results in saving around 25 million gallons per year from 200 accounts. This saves customers about $250,000 per year and increases revenue to the utility by another $250,000 per year due to the saved water being available to new construction accounts that benefit from customer charge, water charge and sewer charge instead of just the water charge at the highest rate of $5.55 per 1,000 gallons.
6. Any suggestions on implementing a similar program?
Access to billing records is essential which requires close cooperation with Utility Management and is welcome because it increases customer service and reduces customer complaints. Many customer complaints that can be associated with irrigation are referred for assistance by Customer service representatives.
Chris Dewey
Florida Friendly Landscaping (TM) Program Coordinator
Pasco County Extension
United States -
Re: High Water Consuming Residences: Correspondence Ideas to Drive down Demand?
2015-12-01 10:15:07 UTC
In a partnership with Pasco Utilities, I receive a report of high water users consuming over 25,000 gallons per month. Correspondence by letter or e-mail have proved unproductive. I contact them by phone and arrange a personal appointment to educate them on irrigation water use efficiency and review settings of the irrigation controller. The average high water user reduces outdoor water use by 10,000 gallons per month with a cumulative impact of reducing outdoor water use by 25 million gallons per year.
Chris Dewey
Florida Freindly Landscaping (TM) Program Coordinator
Pasco County Extension
United States -
Re: Water-efficiency outreach campaign - seeking models
2015-04-09 13:30:35 UTC
Melissa,
For several years, I have been developing and implementing a one man outreach program to high water users (>20,000 gal./mo) here in Pasco County. In partnership with Pasco utilities, I have access to all billing records. Working from a report from the Customer Information System, I pre-qualify the high water use using Property Appraiser data to determine irrigable area and assume 3 persons in residence. Then I cold call the home owner and offer a free appointment at which I present educational materials and then check the settings on the irrigation controller. The program has resulted in average savings of 10,000 gallons per month per customer and resulted in yearly savings of 30,000,000 gallons. At local water rates, this saves the customers $125,000 per year and results in revenue increase to the utility of another $125,000 due to reselling the saved water to new homes which pay sewer costs in addition to water rates and customer service charges.
Chris Dewey
Pasco County Extension
United States -
Re: Riding Lawn Mowers
2008-06-04 13:11:10 UTC
I have read all the replies on this topic and find them unresponsive, beside the point and irrelevant. Besides they advance a personal ideological agenda (anti-grass) rather than responding to a valid question with useful options instead of disrespectful judgements about anyone who would dare to have a landscape with grass as a component. I would recommend googling "robot lawn mowers" or "remote control lawn mowers". These robot/remote control lawn mowers cost no more than a good quality riding lawn mower and would be useful in a yard perhaps as large as half an acre. They are electric powered and self-deploying and charging. For larger areas like 1 acre and up, look at the remote control lawnmower made by Evatech. It is a hybrid gas mower with electric drive motors and uses 40% less gas while being able to mow at up to 10 mph out to a distance of 2000 ft from the operator with a joystick. Most of the energy savings will come from not having to transport a person as well as greater productivity from greater speed. I hope this of actual use and is better received than the "get a goat" responses.
Chris Dewey
UF/IFAS Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Builder/Developer
Program Coordinator
Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service
PublicWorks/Utilities Bldg.,
Rm 109 7530 Little Road
New Port Richey, FL 34654
727-847-8177
cdewey@pascocountyfl.net
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Residential Development Water Use Feedback
2006-01-04 14:16:42 UTC
Here in Florida, most new developments are Master Planned Communities. There usually is a single water main to supply the entire water needs of the community (some have reclaimed water supply too). The County Water Utility has a meter at the point of connection. Does anyone know of a pilot project or case study where water use tracking information (real time or short period updating) has been prominently displayed as current feedback to the entire community so that they can individually and routinely monitor their collective success in conserving water? I am envisioning a display board at the community entrance that is automatically updated and providing usage in context of gallons/per person/day or thousands of gallons per acre. I would suspect that such feedback would engender a greater sense of participation/control and foster both community purpose, community pride and peer pressure to achieve target usage goals. It could also promote a healthy sense of competition between communities if adopted in multiple proximal or adjacent communities . I would appreciate any feedback on anticipated strengths or weaknesses of the strategy/tactic as well as any suggestions on appropriate measurement units, signal processing software, display product vendors ....etc....
Chris Dewey
Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program Coordinator
Pasco County Cooperative Extension Service
PublicWorks/Utilities Bldg., Rm 109
7530 Little Road New Port Richey, FL 34654
727-847-8177
cdewey@pascocountyfl.net
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