Whatever the Weather, Remember: What You Do Is Important

Drought can wear a person down. Weeks without clouds or rain can sap a person’s spirit. But what a difference when the rain comes.

Sometimes utility bill tracking can feel dry and dusty. But as EnergyCAP CEO Steve Heinz reminded a crowd of energy engineers in Washington, D.C. last week, what you do is important.

I’m often amazed at the creativity of our clients in transforming utility bill information into productive action. A case in point is the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS).

It’s been dry and dusty in many parts of Colorado for quite a while now, and recent rains have not yet alleviated the drought. Water resource management has become a front burner issue, and USSC is doing something about it.

Using their water bills, they are tracking water use associated with their facilities. Then as informed stakeholders, they are actively participating in public discussion of water resource management.

I spoke with Keith Woodring, Outdoor Service Supervisor for UCCS, on the phone earlier this week.

Keith is responsible for making sure that all that all irrigation associated with his sprawling campus is in accordance with water restrictions. He’s the guy who helped the university set up a water submetering system a decade ago so that sustainability planners would not only know how much water was being used by the University, but WHERE that water was going on the water “grid”.

He’s also the guy who helped the University negotiate an alternate water management plan when the two-day-a-week water restrictions kicked in. UCCS still adheres to the 2-day rule, but half of the campus is on one schedule and half the campus is on another. This helps with logistics associated with managing multiple zones given a 13-hour water window (restrictions don’t allow daytime irrigation, since evaporation losses are higher then).

Under Keith’s stewardship, water use for UCCS irrigation is down 53 percent this year. Now that’s important.

How are you using your utility bill information to transform your organization? You can comment by clicking here.