AWWA SOURCES59199

Tampa Bay Water is Florida's largest wholesale water provider and supplies potable water to over two million residents in the Hillsborough-Pasco-Pinellas tri-county areas, including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and New Port Richey. As a part of its water conservation initiative, Tampa Bay Water developed a Demand Management Implementation Plan (DMIP, 1998), that included development of water conservation best management practices (BMPs) for reducing interior and exterior potable water demand, and methods to facilitate and encourage implementation of these BMPs. Although designed for estimating conservation savings and reductions from average annual water demand projections, only some member governments used the DMIP annually to develop their five-year water conservation plans. The plans are required under a partnership agreement with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. This study was undertaken by Tampa Bay Water to evaluate the selection of BMPs previously provided to and used by member governments over the past five years. Existing BMPs in DMIP were updated and reclassified with respect to water savings rates, implementation costs, and interactions with other BMPs. New water-saving BMPs that could be applicable to the Tampa Bay region were identified and included in the BMP implementation plan. A water savings calculator software product was developed to enable members to easily evaluate water savings and cost associated with various BMP implementation scenarios. The program will eventually allow for regional compilation of member government five-year water conservation plans, maximum conservation potential by member and the region, and the ability to track BMP implementation on an annual basis. Includes tables.