Adapting to Change - Declining Flows and Utility Systems Survey

The unprecedented success of conservation and water use efficiency efforts in California (and beyond) have enabled communities to adapt to unprecedented drought conditions and future challenges of climate change.  Demand management programs are here to stay and residential water use and associated wastewater flows have been on a downward trend.  These successes have also led to some unanticipated effects on integral wastewater, recycled water, and drinking water distribution systems, which requires utility investments to adapt effectively. Adverse effects to be addressed include accumulation of solids and production of hydrogen sulfide in the waste collection system, the potential to diminish the production and quality of recycled and purified water, and increased water age in potable water distribution systems causing nitrification and increased formation of disinfection byproducts. Further, wastewater treatment plants have observed changes to contaminant concentrations which make treatment more costly.

The California Urban Water Agencies (CUWA), made up of 11 major water utilities in California, is working to better understand the implications, adaptation strategies, and actions to mitigate system-wide impacts of increased conservation and long term water use efficiency.  The goal of this survey is to determine how significant and wide-spread these issues are for California agencies and how they are mitigating these issues. The results of this survey will be incorporated into a white paper intended to help inform statewide indoor residential water use targets.

Thank you for participating in our survey. Your feedback is important.