Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District
Fast Track Implementation
EVMWD implemented BBRs in 2009. Prior to the BBR structure, EVMWD had a fixed blocked rate structure that was in place for many years. Initially, the BBR structure was applicable only for residential and landscape irrigation customers. Two years later, the BBR structure was extended to recycled water customers.
EVMWD had an accelerated implementation period of eight months from the procurement of a consultant in November 2008 to the first BBR structure customer billing in August 2009. A consultant was selected that had experience in implementing BBRs, which facilitated the decision-making process in developing the rate structure. The implementation team was fairly small and decisions were made quickly, which enabled the process to move at a quick pace.
At the same time as developing BBRs, EVMWD was also in the process of implementing a new billing system, which went live in January 2009. Due to the updated system, the modifications and costs required to accommodate the BBRs were fairly minimal. The main focus of EVMWD’s Board was to have a rate structure that was fair and equitable to its customers. Other goals were to have a rate structure that was fairly simple and cost-effective to implement, maintain, and explain to customers.
Advanced Metering Technology
EVMWD plans to improve water management services by upgrading its existing water meter data management system to a fixed-network, flexible two-way communication system for over 41,000 connections throughout its service area. This technology will allow EVMWD to remotely manage its metering assets and allows customers the ability to detect leaks, view water usage, set alerts, and gather reports about the customer’s home water system on a minute-by-minute basis through the wireless sensor network.
As of May 2016, EVMWD has installed the new Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and 1,600 AMI meters with plans to install AMI meters for the entire District by March 2018. Coupled with EVMWD’s BBRs, this project may save the District 1,271 AF of water in a year. The project spans across the District, including over 41,000 homes and the EVMWD headquarters. The ultimate goals of this project are for customers to conserve and use water more efficiently and for the District to increase the use of renewable (e.g., solar) energy and improve energy efficiency.
The total cost of the project is $5,258,680. EVMWD has received $858,625 in a DWR Water Energy grant and $750,000 in a CALFED Water Use Efficiency grant towards this project. To help with the local matching funds, EVMWD has applied for a low interest Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan in the amount of $2,300,000 and will cash fund the remaining portion of the project through savings in operating expenses.
EVMWD also has an AMI customer portal, where customers can go online and analyze their water use. The figure below shows a screen shot of a customer’s account showing water usage by hour for 48 hours. The continuous water usage throughout the 48 hours indicates a leak within the customer’s home.
