Water Conservation

Prescott Valley residents have done an admirable job of conserving water. The Town’s overall per-capita use rate is less than 100 gallons per day; one of the lowest water use rates among Arizona’s regulated municipalities. A downward trend in daily water use began with the implementation of tiered water rates in 2004. These rates provide an economical base quantity of water (e.g. 8,000 gallons/month for residential) and then increase in unit cost above the base quantity.
  

Residential Block Rates

Gallons/Month

Price per Thousand Gallons

0-8,000

$3.02

8,001-20,000

$3.62

20,000+

$4.71
Per-person water use is calculated by dividing the total volume of water pumped by the Town of Prescott Valley for its customer by the total population within the Town’s service area. This includes water used throughout the community for parks, commercial uses and delivery losses. In 2013, the average indoor residential use was estimated to be 58 gallons per person per day while the other 35 gallons per person per day were used on landscaping, parks, businesses, schools and other community uses.
Per-capita Water Use

Water conservation on outdoor landscaping has been the Town’s primary focus. Indoor water conservation is important, but since almost all of the water used inside is captured, treated and used to recharge the aquifer, water use indoors still gets recycled. Water used outside typically evaporates and cannot be reused within our local watershed. The best way to conserve water is to be careful about outdoor water use.

Water Smart 2

Information about water conservation techniques can be found on the regional WaterSmart outreach program. WaterSmart information can be found in the racks on the second floor of the Prescott Valley Civic Center
(7501 E. Civic Circle) or online at http://www.yavapaiwatersmart.org/.

Home with attractive low water use landscaping

The Town does not offer appliance or toilet rebate programs, but does try to set a good example by reducing its own water use at public spaces. The Town received a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to replace the irrigation timers at Town parks with smart irrigation clocks. The smart technology calculates water needs for the turf based on weather data and provides alerts about possible broken sprinkler heads to Parks Department staff. Town staff estimate that the smart irrigation technology saves about 15% in water use over the old irrigation timers.

 Attractive low water use landscaping in Prescott Valley
Town Programs
Other water conservation programs used by the Town include:
 
  1. Water line leak detection surveys and repairs 
  2. System Optimization through computer-assisted management – this prevents overfilling of water tanks and over-pressurizing system delivery lines 
  3. Service line replacements (replaces old butyl pipe with copper) 
  4. Service Meter replacements (Flexnet System) 
  5. Waterless urinals at the Civic Center 
  6. Town Parks Irrigation Audits 
  7. Smart Irrigation Technology at Town Parks 
  8. Effluent water use ordinance for golf courses 
  9. Regional water conservation outreach (WaterSmart) 
  10. Tiered Rates 
  11. Xeriscape Demonstration Garden (Library) 
  12. Customer High Water Use Notification and Resolution 
  13. Smart Irrigation Technology at Parks

More information on these various programs can be obtained from the Water Resource Manager at 928-759-3105 or jmunderloh@pvaz.net.