Phoenix AMA
Cover Page
µ Prepared by:City of El MirageCommunity DevelopmentPlanning & Zoning/GISJanuary 15, 2020
Source: Public Works, Wastewater Division
Legend Water Service Area City Boundary
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The City of El Mirage seeks funding to implement a comprehensive water conservation program that will allow staff to provide education and resources to residents offering ways to reduce their water consumption and potential cost savings in addition to increased monitoring through new technologies. El Mirage has lacked funding to provide conservation education and resources to the nearly 40,000 customers within its water service area. Current leadership in the City has acknowledged the importance of water conservation by making it a strategic priority. During FY19-20, City of El Mirage staff put on the first water conservation workshop, developed City sustainability and conservation webpage, became a member of Water Use it Wisely, and teamed up with Project Wet to teach 4th graders within our community about the importance of water. Financial support from this grant would help the City expand its efforts to conserve water directly and indirectly. A proposed xeriscape program will help customers lower their water use, which could also help them save on their water bill and help extend the City’s water portfolio into the future. Automatic shut-off meter technology will allow for meters to be quickly shutdown when issues are observed while also saving labor costs. Implementation of WaterSmart software will allow the City and its customers to track water use to better identify high water use situations; this software has been shown to lower water use by up to 5%. The ability to purchase tools and resources and to distribute them to the community could further lower residential water use. Best practices from conservation programs throughout Arizona will be used to ensure programmatic success. Conservation programs, such as the program in Tucson, have proven to be successful. In more than 30 years, the Tucson program has been able to reduce per capita water use by 30%. A similar reduction in El Mirage could lead to a savings of approximately a half million dollars in water supply costs which would help to keep water rates affordable while also helping the City approach its goal of safe yield. Implementing the El Mirage Water Conservation Program is the foundation for long-term conservation and sustainability education within our community that has the potential to lead to cost-savings for our residents and, more importantly, long-term groundwater conservation and preservation.
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Project Overview
The City of El Mirage recently began implementing a water conservation program that
provides residents education on how to conserve water; however, financial resources are limited
and the City lags behind many other Valley communities in its efforts. Educational outreach
efforts have been well received by community members with more than 50 residents attending a
Water Conservation Workshop in January 2019; and Project Wet taught to 17 classrooms of
fourth graders in at Dysart Unified School District Schools located in El Mirage. These
initiatives heightened resident interest of water conservation within the City of El Mirage and
have our residents wanting to do more. El Mirage has lacked funding to provide conservation
education and resources to the nearly 40,000 customers within its water service area.
The El Mirage Water Conservation Program seeks funding to implement a
comprehensive water conservation program that will allow staff to provide education and
resources to residents offering ways to reduce their water consumption and potential cost savings
in addition to increased monitoring through new technologies. Current leadership in the City has
acknowledged the importance of water conservation by making it a strategic priority: The City
relies on groundwater for delivery to users, and as an important partner in the West Valley,
should work to minimize its impact to the regional water table. Financial support from this grant
opportunity would help the City expand its efforts to conserve water directly and indirectly by
implementing the following programs in the City of El Mirage:
Xeriscape Program: A xeriscape program would help customers lower their water use,
which could also help them save on their water bill and help extend the City’s water
portfolio into the future.
Automatic Shut-Off Meter Technology: Automatic shut-off meter technology would
allow for meters to be quickly shutdown when issues are observed while also saving
labor costs for the City.
Outreach and Education Program: The City will increase training for the community
and schools located in El Mirage to teach about water conservation. The City will also
provide tools to the community to save water such as low-flow faucets and leak kits.
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WaterSmart Software: The implementation of WaterSmart software would allow the
City and its customers to track water use to better identify high water use situations; this
software has been shown to lower water use by up to 5%.
The ability to purchase tools and resources and to distribute them to the City of El Mirage could
further lower residential water use in this Multi-aspect Conservation Program targeted for
implementation in the El Mirage Water Service Area that services approximately 40,000
customers in the City of El Mirage and a portion of the Old Town Surprise. Water conservation
is an ongoing need for desert-based communities like El Mirage. Recent drought conditions have
required cuts to the Colorado River and have further demonstrated the need to conserve. The
proposed project is identified by best practices that have been implemented in other
communities; the City of El Mirage is looking for opportunities to apply these best practices to
achieve positive results.
The El Mirage Water Conservation Program directly conserves groundwater through the
removal of high water use by removing grass and adding the ability to react to high meter flows
by shutting down quickly until the issue is resolved. Indirectly, groundwater is conserved by
providing educational resources, tools, and software for customers to consider water
conservation practices in their community and change their habits. This program will show
significant groundwater saving by attaching conservation from multiple directions. The indirect
and direct conservation will lower the amount of water pumped to provide residents. Savings can
be evaluated through monitoring the City’s annual groundwater pumping report.
The City of El Mirage is in the process of releasing an initial survey on variety topics of
interest including conservation. The data will provide a baseline to measure the impact of
conservation outreach and education in the community. The City also analyzes current per capita
water and wastewater use to see the impacts of future and current conservation actions. Staff will
also conduct pre- and post-surveys at conservation events to gauge participant level of learning.
Data would be used plan future events and determine if follow-up programming and materials
are needed and to verify results. Surveys would also be provided to those participating in the
xeriscape program to determine project results. Watersmart software utilization will be analyzed
by the program analytics and annual water use will be evaluated pre and post utilization to
determine effectiveness.
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By lowering water use, the City will be closer to meeting the primary goal of safe yield,
which is consistent with the management goal of the AMA. The City of El Mirage currently
recharges water pumped with effluent, CAP water, and the purchase of LTSC and
Extinguishment Credits. Further, the El Mirage Water Conservation Program benefits City water
users and stakeholders by lowering overall water use; helps conserve our resource; and keeps
utility rates low by extending the current supply of credits. Reduction in customer per capita use
of water will help to extend the City’s water supply. Conservation also means customers can
potentially see savings on water bills. Additionally, the City can more efficiently serve residents
through the use of water saving technology.
During winter of 2019, the City of El Mirage hosted its first Water Conservation
Workshop, marking the beginning of its conservation education program. Educational efforts are
underway in schools located in El Mirage. These efforts are exciting, but we know there is more
unduplicated work that needs to be done to work toward greater water conservation efforts in the
City of El Mirage. Implementing a xeriscape program, automatic shut-off meter technology, and
WaterSmart software; and increasing educational offerings would benefit the greater El Mirage
community and allow the City to provide varying levels of water conservation education.
The Public Works Department will seek financial and management support of the
programs that show to be the most cost-effective over time. Successful implementation will
provide the methodology for future program and show the need for adding a conservation
program to the water fund budget. By having a member of our Public Works team serve as the
project champion, the initiative will have opportunity to see greater success and, in turn,
likelihood of long-term sustainability (Epstein, 2011; Grooms, 2019). Having prior success
within the community with its conservation workshops also indicates interest in additional
programmatic offerings. Further, conservation is a Strategic Priority for the City and has the
support of its Mayor and Council. The City has budgeted $10,000 for conservation-related
activities and is looking to support the WaterSmart Technology with $20,000 annually. Public
Works Department staff would also work with the City’s Grants and Special Programs
Administrator to look for future grant opportunities to support the program. Also, aspects
demonstrating benefits of conservation could garner support for capital funding of larger scale
projects.
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Many aspects of these programs have already been implemented in other municipalities
within the AMA and throughout the State. The structure of the program implemented in the City
of El Mirage will be well documented and can be shared with other municipalities to increase
conservation statewide.
c. Task purpose/objective: Implement WaterSmart Software
d. Task description: The City will utilize the AMI equipment already deployed to allow
customer to better monitor their water use through software. We will then be able to
provide feedback to allow customers to change their water use habits and save
money.
f. Deliverable description: Roll out software and increase customer use
g. Deliverable due date: Roll out within year. Continuously increase customer use over
five years
c. Task purpose/objective: Install and implement automatic shut-off meters.
d. Task description: When a leak is detected, a valve will be able to be closed
immediately, saving both manpower and water.
e. Responsible personnel: Public Works Department
f. Deliverable description: Install and use automatic shut-off use meters.
g. Deliverable due date: Install and use automatic shut-off meters within year. Evaluate
effectiveness yearly.
a. Task: #3
c. Task purpose/objective: Implement and provide conservation material and education
d. Task description: The City will be able to increase training for the community and in
the schools located in the City of El Mirage to teach about water conservation. The
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City will also provide tools to the community to save water such as low-flow faucets
and leak kits.
f. Deliverable description: Increase conservation knowledge within service area.
g. Deliverable due date: Evaluate community knowledge at end of five years.
4. Scope of Work #4
a. Task: #4
c. Task purpose/objective: Implement grass to xeriscape program.
d. Task description: The City will implement a program to remove grass within the
service area and replace with xeriscape landscaping which can improve wildlife
habitat and prevent the heat island effect.
e. Responsible personnel: Public Works Department
f. Deliverable description: Replace grass within service area.
g. Deliverable due date: Implement program within one year. Evaluate saving at end of
five years.
Total
Task 1: Task 2: Task 3: Task 4:
a. Personnel $ $ $ $ $ b. Fringe Benefits $ $ $ $ $ c. Travel $ $ $ $ $ d. Equipment $ $ $ $ $ e. Supplies $ $ $ $ $ f. Contractual $ $ $ $ $ g. Construction $ $ $ $ $ h. Other $ $ $ $ $ i. Total Direct Charges
(sum of a-h) $ $ $ $ $
j. Indirect Charges $ $ $ $ $ k. Totals (sum of i and j) $ $ $ $ $
Total Program/Project Budget $ $ $ $ $
BUDGET NARRATIVE
FY2020
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The City of El Mirage is requesting $150,000 to implement a comprehensive water conservation program that will allow staff to provide education and resources to residents offering ways to reduce their water consumption and potential cost savings in addition to increased monitoring through new technologies. This will include a xeriscape program, automatic shut-off meter technology, outreach and education program, and WaterSmart software. The City has budgeted $10,000 for conservation-related activities and is looking to support the WaterSmart Technology with $20,000 annually.
The total award is proposed to be spent between the tasks as follows:
1) WaterSmart: The City will utilize the AMI equipment already deployed to allow customer to better monitor their water use through software. We will then be able to provide feedback to allow customers to change their water use habits and save money. $42,500
2) Automatic Shut-Off Meters: Install and implement 100 automatic shut-off meters. $35,000
3) Outreach and Education Program: The City will provide biannual trainings for the community and annual trainings in the schools in El Mirage to teach about water conservation. The City will also provide tools to the community to save water such as low-flow faucets and leak kits. $20,000
4) Xeriscape Program: The City will implement a program to remove grass within the service area and replace with xeriscape landscaping which can improve wildlife habitat and prevent the heat island effect. $52,500
Task #1 will require a contractor to implement the software for the City. This is flat rate for the contractor and implementation time is dependent on many factors. City staff will purchase supplies and educational material to educate customers. This will be done by a number of platforms which may include digital and in person training and education.
ITEM RATE QTY TOTAL Personnel
Fringe
Travel
Equipment
Task #1 activities will include:
1. Implementation of software 2. Employee training 3. Customer outreach and training
Task #2 will require an estimated purchase of 100 initial meters. The supplier will train City staff on usage and implementation. Public works staff will identify the best locations for installation and will install when time and operation permit within a year.
ITEM RATE QTY TOTAL Personnel
Fringe
Travel
1. Installation of automatic shutoff meters 2. Customer service training
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Task #3 will require yearly classroom training by a contractor. Time required will be dependent on school and contractor availability but will be done on an annual basis. City staff will put on two water related conservation workshops or training each year for the community. They will provide them with the resources and supplies to conserve water at home and around their workplace.
ITEM RATE QTY TOTAL Personnel
Fringe
Travel
Equipment
Task #3 activities will include:
1. Community outreach and education program twice a year 2. Annual education training in local schools 3. Supplies and materials development for community
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Task #4 will require City staff to develop a xeriscape rebate program for the community to remove high water use turf. The staff will purchase supplies to promote and educate the program. The program will look to reimburse customer every year for five year to convert landscape to lower water use xeriscape. City staff time will be dependent on the number of applicants for program.
ITEM RATE QTY TOTAL Personnel
Fringe
Travel
Equipment
Task #4 activities will include:
1. Program development 2. Program education and outreach 3. Rebate program implementation and tracking
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Additional Contribution Breakdown
The City of El Mirage has budgeted $10,000 for conservation-related activities and is
looking to support the WaterSmart Technology with $20,000 annually.
Conservation-related activities: $10,000
WaterSmart Technology: $20,000
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DREYFUS DR
TO NY
A CI
12145 NW Grand Ave. El Mirage, Arizona 85335
May 16, 2008
Aqua Fira River
Aqua Fira River
ADWR Community Water System ID# 91-000221.0000
ADEQ PWSID# 04 07-091
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Evidence of Control and Tenure of Land
This project is all conservation based with education and activities and also includes a
technology upgrade for the City of El Mirage’s water service area. The City of l Mirage has legal
availability of water; however, none will be used for the purpose of this grant.
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WMAP Groundwater Conservation Grant Application Checklist
Project Proposal
Cover Letter
Executive Summary
Project Overview
Project Map
Supplemental Information
Evidence of Control and Tenure of Land
State Historic Preservation Office Review Form
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El Mirage WCP - Evidence of Physical and Legal Availability of Water
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El Mirage WCP - Evidence of Control and Tenure of Land
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Task 2: Automatic Shutoff Meters
Task 3: Outreach and Education
Task 4: Xeriscape Conversion Program plus education
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