How Does It Work?
Aurora Water Conservation estimates what your property's water use could be for a given billing cycle if you are using water efficiently. This efficient use is referred to as the Recommended Water Use (RWU). This estimate is based on the following:
- Number of people in a household. This value is provided by participants. If no value is provided, the rounded median number of Aurora residents per household (three) is used.
- Weather. This data is acquired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) site and local weather stations.
- Square footage of landscaped areas on the property. This value is calculated using aerial imagery and our Geographic Information System (GIS).
Indoor RWU
The Indoor RWU is calculated every billing cycle. Billing cycles are variable, based on which day of the month your meter is read. This component reflects your home's typical water use for cooking, cleaning and other daily functions, but not for outdoor watering of plants. Most water-efficient households use 41 gallons per person per day.
Outdoor RWU
The Outdoor RWU is calculated every billing cycle from April to October and reflects what you should be using to water your landscape. We recommend using 17.5 gallons per square foot for cool season turf grass, such as Kentucky bluegrass, and 9.4 gallons per square foot for low-water landscape, including shrubs, perennials, and water-wise plant materials. We calculate these values using aerial imagery and digital mapping processes. We adjust your recommended water use to account for weather conditions that affect plant water needs.
Know Your Flow Example:
Aurora Water Conservation will use the following aerial imagery and calculations to calculate the RWU in June for a household of four people with a mix of cool season turf grass areas and low-water-use landscape.
Plants’ Water Needs: 2.66 gallons per square foot for cool season turf grass
1.43 gallons per square foot for low water use landscape
Outdoor RWU = (1,418 sq. ft. x 2.66 gallons) + (1,998 sq. ft. x 1.43 gallons) = 6,629 gallons
Indoor RWU = 4 residents x 41 gallons x 30 days= 4,920 gallons
Now we add both the Indoor RWU and Outdoor RWU to come up with the total for our example.
Total RWU for June = 4,920 gallons + 6,629 gallons = 11,549 gallons
As you can see, there are several months, highlighted in red, where the example customer used more water than our RWU value. May was abnormally wet and cool so outdoor plants did not need nearly as much water as they typically would. The graph below shows how the water needs may compare to the historical averages for each month.
If you have any questions, please check our FAQs or contact Aurora Water Conservation at 303.739.7195.