EM-120

EM-120 Utility Customer Profile Guide for Water Conservation Planning

Authors: A. Wolff, D.E. Boellstorff, T. A. Berthold

Conservation coordinators and managers often seek recommendations for best management practices (BMPs) that
produce the greatest amount of water savings at the least cost. In practice, it is difficult to create a hierarchy of BMPs
based on cost and water-savings effectiveness because numerous factors may affect those results, including available
conservation funding, how conservation affects revenue generation, differences in customer classifications, conservation
goals set by the utility or provider, staff availability and training, economic and social values of water, and
customers’ attitudes regarding conservation. Therefore, performing a customer profile in each utility service area is
necessary for determining the BMPs that may help achieve water conservation goals.