AWWA SOURCES66413

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) provides water and sewer services to approximately 500,000 residents in Washington, D.C. and operates a regional wastewater treatment plant (Blue Plains) which treats a substantial flow from municipalities in Maryland and Virginia. In 2005, WASA initiated a conservation program with a goal of reducing 6 million gallons per day (MGD) by 2012. In 2001, WASA enhanced its meter reading program by installing a fixed Advance Meter Reading (AMR) network to include 124,000 remote transmitting meters on the drinking water service line and 59 data collection receivers within the District of Columbia. Utilizing the AMR real-time meter reading capabilities, WASA enhanced its customer service and conservation program by creating a High Usage Notification Alert system (HUNA) that notifies customers via telephone or email regarding high water usage occurring in their home. Since the implementation of HUNA, customer complaints due to high water bills have decreased along with the volume of wasted water associated with these incidents. To improve conservation and customer relations further using AMR/HUNA data, WASA created an enhanced water auditing program that provides technical assistance by phone or on-site auditing to customers notified by HUNA who are having trouble locating their high usage source. This paper focuses on the components and implementation of the HUNA and customer service programs and their impacts on conservation. Includes table, figures.