The President's Climate Data Initiative Launches with Strong Commitments, Including AWE
On March 19, 2014, delivering on a commitment in the President’s Climate Action Plan, the White House launched the Climate Data Initiative, an ambitious new effort bringing together extensive open government data and design competitions with commitments from the private and philanthropic sectors to develop data-driven planning and resilience tools for local communities. The Initiative will help give communities across America the information and tools they need to plan for current and future climate impacts.
In support of the President’s Climate Data Initiative, AWE commits to developing and delivering data-driven information, assistance and education to help businesses, communities and consumers prepare for the impacts of climate change by using water more sustainably. Using water more efficiently can help mitigate the effects of climate change, including drought and more frequent flooding, by stretching water supplies to meet future needs and reducing wastewater and storm water flows that can damage ecosystems. Below are a few initiatives that embody AWE’s commitment to leveraging data to drive a shift in how we use and think about water.
Over the next three years, AWE will provide assistance and resources to communities throughout the U.S. to help them achieve water use reductions or expand water conservation programs, through webinars, workshops, and new tools. This includes AWE’s Water Conservation Tracking Tool, which enables utilities to evaluate the water savings, costs, and benefits of a variety of conservation programs, and track savings over time, as well as a new Sales Forecasting and Rates Model to help utilities design and evaluate water rates that help achieve revenue stability and incentivize efficiency.
AWE will develop a comprehensive Outdoor Water Savings Research Program over the next three years to produce actionable data on the savings potential and actual water savings from a variety of outdoor conservation measures. The results of this research will provide relevant information on water and cost savings from different outdoor measures and programs, regional differences, and evaluation methods. Outdoor water use, compared to indoor use, is much more diverse due to differences in lot sizes, irrigation methods, vegetation, weather, and behavior. This makes it challenging to predict water savings resulting from efficiency measures, which is a critically important piece of the water resource planning process. More accurate data will allow communities to implement outdoor programs that effectively help conserve water.
AWE will work with at least ten communities over three years to customize and distribute its online Household Water Calculator, which empowers citizens to make better decisions about their water use through data. The Calculator allows consumers to calculate their own water use, compare it to a neighboring and water-efficient home, and delivers a personalized efficiency plan to help them use water more wisely.