|
Water is a precious, limited resource. In the Pacific
Northwest, drinking water for our growing population competes
with other users that include agriculture, industry, recreation,
and maintaining an adequate stream flow for fish. By working
with public water systems to implement water use efficiency
programs, we strive to ensure a safe and reliable supply of
drinking water to meet current and future needs.
2012 WUE Training Opportunities
Mike Dexel, WUE Program Manager, will be speaking at
following conferences:
|
Water systems can help prevent potential health and
sanitation risks to their customers by effectively planning and
implementing water use efficiency (WUE) measures. This means
fewer emergencies when water supplies are scarce, especially
during summer months when it rains less and user demands are
high.
About the Water Use Efficiency Rule
When the Washington State Legislature passed the
2003 Municipal
Water Law (MWL) to reform the state's water laws, it
accomplished two things:
- Added flexibility in the use of municipal water rights
to serve growing communities by eliminating some of the risk
of losing those municipal rights to the state.
- In exchange for this water right flexibility, the law
requires municipalities to use water efficiently.
What are the Requirements?
WUE requirements can be found in
WAC 246-290 and here, in the
Third Edition of the
Guidebook (PDF).
To summarize, municipal water suppliers must:
- Publicly establish water savings goals for their
customers.
- Evaluate or implement specific water saving measures to
achieve customer-based goals.
- Develop a WUE planning program to support the
established goals.
- Install meters on all customer connections by January
22, 2017.
- Achieve a standard of no more than 10% water loss.
- Report annually on progress towards achieving these
goals.
What Does the Water Use Efficiency Rule Achieve?
Using water efficiently helps water systems protect against:
- Temporary water service interruptions during peak usage.
- Long-term or repeated water disruptions due to limited
water supply.
- Contamination of the water supply due to leaky pipes.
The WUE requirements also:
- Help ensure reliable long-term water supplies.
- Promote good stewardship of the state's water resources.
- Ensure efficient operation and management of water
systems.
- Reduce energy use and save money.
Who is Affected?
Any Group A community water system that serves at least 15
residential service connections must comply with the Water Use
Efficiency Rule, whether publicly or privately owned.
WUE Educational Resources
WUE Funding Opportunities
For More Information
If you have any questions, please
contact
Michael Dexel at (360)
236-3154. |
|
