Residential Development Water Use Feedback

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
[email protected]