Implementing a statewide water loss technical assistance program to support California Senate Bill 555

Check out this case study to learn how the E Source Water Loss Consulting team partners with water utilities to manage and reduce water losses.

The challenge

In October 2015, California passed Senate Bill 555, requiring all retail urban water suppliers to report on distribution efficiency annually. The legislation requires all reports to be delivered to the Department of Water Resources as Level 1–validated American Water Works Association (AWWA) water audits. Bill 555 also directs the State Water Resources Control Board to create water loss performance standards after a few years of data have been collected. Many agencies had never compiled an AWWA water audit before, and California had never before pursued a concerted validation effort.

To address this gap, the state partnered with E Source to:

• Teach best-practice water audit compilation and water loss control methodology to California utilities
• Standardize Level 1 water audit validation in California, in part through the publication of additional data validity grading guidance
• Validate all water audits (about 400 in total) against Level 1 standards before submission
• Make sure everyone successfully crossed the regulatory finish line

The solution

Working through the challenges associated with SB 555, the E Source team developed the water loss technical assistance program (TAP). Under E Source’s guidance, the water loss TAP delivered to date:

• 73 full-day educational workshops
• 405 Level 1 water audit validations
• 1,500 utility employees trained in best-practice water audit methodology

The water loss TAP was the first program of this type and scale ever offered, and California utilities stepped up to the plate to meet the validation goals set before them.

The results

The water loss TAP set the stage for making water conservation a California way of life. Now, the state can gather validated data on water loss from all retail urban water loss suppliers every year, laying the groundwork for justified investments in water loss control and improved supply and infrastructure management. E Source is proud to have supported sustainability in California and excited about the state’s water loss control future.