This is a list of the most important and/or interesting projects Aquacraft has completed since the company was founded in 1990.  Projects are generally listed in chronological order by the year they were completed.

Home Water Works (2012)

Working with a grant from the Home Depot Foundation, Aquacraft and the Alliance for Water Efficiency developed the Home Water Works website - www.home-water-works.org - a consumer oriented web resource that includes a powerful residential water calculator. The Water Calculator, based on an original design from The Field Museum in Chicago is an interative tool that estimates residential water use based on user responses to a simple set of questions.  The Water Calcuator utilizes per capita demand curves developed by Aquacraft from various residential end use studies.  Outdoor use is estimated based on the local climate zone, irrigated area, landscape, and irrigation method.

California Single Family Water Use Efficiency Study (2011)

Random samples of 60 homes each were selected from the single family populations in 10 major California water agencies.  The water use in these homes was analyzed in detail using both billing data and flow traces, which allowed water use to be disaggregated by end-use.  The indoor and outdoor water use efficiencies were determined so that the current state of water use, and the potential for future water savings through conservation could be determined.  Comparisons were made to the information obtained as part of the REUWS study (1999), which collected water use data in 1996-1997.  Over 700 houses were data-logged as part of this study, and the irrigated area of the homes was determined from aerial photo analysis.  Surveys were sent to the residents to obtain demographic and physical information about the study homes.  This combination of information allowed highly accurate and detailed analyses of the water use and efficiency of use to be made for the group.  Regression analyses were performed which allowed projections to be made on statewide implications of the study.  Download final report (7.5 mb) here.

Analysis of Water Use in New Single Family Homes (2011)

The focus of this study was to determine whether new single family homes use more or less water than existing homes.  For this study the breakpoint between new and existing homes as chosen as January 1, 2001.  The analysis included surveys to both new and existing customers so that the factors that affect water use could be corrected for (such as the number of residents, the size of the lot and home, etc).  A total of nine water agencies across the US participated in the study.  Random samples of 40 new homes were chosen from each study site.  These homes were visited so that flow traces could be obtained for end-use analysis, and that the water using fixtures and appliances present in the homes could be identified precisely. Information on landscapes and irrigation systems was collected at these homes so that the irrigation water use and application rates could be determined. Final report available soon pending approval.

Web Editor, Alliance for Water Efficiency (2007 - present)

Peter Mayer, Aquacraft's Vice President, is the editor of the Alliance for Water Efficiency's Water Efficiency Watch newsletter - the premier water conservation e-newsletter.   Peter and Aquacraft also develop web content for AWE.  Aquacraft developed the resource library for AWE and developed the content for AWE's new residential web site - Home Water Works.

Guidebook of Best Practices for Municipal Water Conservation in Colorado (2010)

On behalf of Colorado WaterWise, Aquacraft wrote and published a thorough guidebook of voluntary conservation best practices for utilities in Colorado.  The guidebook was developed as a tool for improving and enhancing water efficiency and was written specifically for water professionals.  The guidebook includes information on 14 best practices including: implementation approach and methods, likely costs, anticiapted water savings, barriers, and challenges.

Download the Guidebook of Best Practices for Municipal Water Conservation in Colorado here.

California Embedded Energy in Water Studies:  End-Use Water Demand Profiles (2010)

“Embedded energy in water” refers to the amount of energy that is used to collect, convey, treat, and distribute a unit of water to end-users, and the amount of energy that is used to collect and transport used water for treatment prior to safe discharge of the effluent in accordance with regulatory rules. In 2007, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) authorized water-energy pilot projects and three studies designed to (a) validate claims that saving water can save energy, and (b) explore whether embedded energy savings associated with water use efficiency are measurable and verifiable.  

As part of this effort, The End-Use Water Demand Profile Study was conducted by Aquacraft, Inc. under contract to the CPUC, Energy Division to provide more accurate hourly water use profile data than have previously been available. The study examined cold-water use for six end-user (customer) categories, plus urban irrigation.  Flow trace analysis was conducted in order to provide precise information about water use patterns:  where, when, and how much water is used by a variety of devices at the sites that were studied in the analysis.  The results of the study include 24-hour end use water demand profiles for each category.

California Embedded Energy in Water Pilot Programs Impact Evaluation (2010)

Past research has shown that there is considerable energy that is required to obtain, treat and distribute water supplies to end-use customers. In response to these findings, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved the Embedded Energy in Water Pilot programs, through which California’s largest energy Investor-Owned Utilities were directed to develop partnerships with water agencies, implement specific water conservation and energy efficiency programs, and measure the embedded energy savings. Aquacraft conducted impacrt evaluations for CPUC for Pilot programs involving pH Controllers on cooling towers, high efficiency toilets in low income multi family residences.  For each program, changes in water use pre and post of the intervention were measured directly and analyzed to show how much water (and energy) was saved through the intervention.

EPA WaterSense Program Support (2004 – Present)

Working with first with D&R International and since 2007 with ERG, Aquacraft has assisted in the design and implementation of the WaterSense program since its incemtion.  Aquacraft played a key role in evaluating products and product categories that could receive an efficiency label and recently provided input in to the development of the Weather-Based Irrigation Controller WaterSense specification.

Colorado State Water Supply Initiative Municipal and Industrial Conservation Strategies (2010)

Under contract from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Office of Water Conservation, Aquacraft prepared the municial and industrial conservation strategies chapter of the SWSI 2010 update.  This project involved an extensive stakeholder input and review process.

The purpose of this project was to:

• Incorporate recent water conservation-related efforts into the SWSI 2010 update.
• Update the range of potential future water conservation savings across the state under three scenarios
• Provide water conservation strategies that may contribute toward meeting the projected 2050 M&I water supply gap and help address Colorado’s future municipal and industrial (M&I) water needs.

Water Conservation: Customer Behavior and Effective Communications (2010)

The objective of this WaterRF research study was to evaluate the linkages and relationships between water conservation behavior of residential customers and the communication approaches that seek to influence that behavior.  Aquacraft was a subcontractor to ICF International and together implemented this evaluation through a multi-method approach including: telephone interviews with water agency personnel, surveys of residential water customers, analyses of current and past billing records, in-depth case studies of water agencies and their conservation communication campaigns, and an evaluation of communication methods implemented by six participating utilities.

Download the executive summary here.

Evaluation of California Weather-Based "Smart" Irrigation Controller Programs (2009)

Aquacraft conducted a multi-year study of smart irrigation controllers in California.  Data from installation of over 3,000 smart controllers in both northern and southern California were analyzed.  Actual weather normalized irrigation applications were determined for each site before and after the smart irrigation controllers were installed.  The systems were evaluated both on the basis of how much water they saved, and on how well they were able to match irrigation applications  to the theoretical irrigation demands.  The results of the analysis were mixed.  The controllers as a group brought the applications closer to the theoretical demands, but there was a substantial residual amount of over and under irrigation in the group after the controllers were installed.  Water savings were found to depend heavily on the amount of pre-install over-irrigation.  Annual weather normalized water savings for the group as a whole averaged around 50 kgal per year.  One of the key findings of the study was that screening for over-irrigators as candidates for future interventions could double the potential savings and substantially reduce the expected implementation costs.  Recommendations are included for future research. AWWA Journal "Best Paper" Award Winner - 2011.

Download the full report here.

Water Budgets and Rate Structures: Innovative Management Tools (2008)

Aquacraft was principal investigator on this AwwaRF study of the uses of water budget based rate structures for improving water resource management. The study defined what a water budget rate structure is, and how such system can improve overall water resource management.  Key elements of the analysis included improved equity and flexibility for the customers, more responsive demand management for the utilities, financial integrity and improved drought response.  Barriers to implementation of water budgets and case studies were included in this AwwaRF research report.  AWWA Journal "Best Paper" Award Winner - 2009.

Download a 2009 article drawn from this study here.

City of Greeley Water Conservation Plan (2008)

This Water Conservation Plan for the City of Greeley was developed to establish clear goals and to outline programs and measures to meet those goals that will ensure a healthy and sufficient water supply for the future.  Aquacraft worked with Greeley to establish a goal of reducing demand by 8.2 percent directly through its conservation program efforts over the period from 2010 to 2030 compared with projected future demand without conservation.  The net impact of this program is an estimated cumulative savings of 144 acre feet per year that will yield a total savings of slightly over 3,000 acre feet of water by 2030.  Greeley's water conservation plan was approved by city officials and the by the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

Download the Greeley Water Conservation Plan here.

City of Fort Collins Water Conservation Plan (2008)

The City of Fort Collins Utilities provides water, wastewater, stormwater and electric services to the Fort Collins community. In 2007, the Utilities served 8.8 billion gallons of water to approximately 128,000 people. The City views the water conservation program as an important proactive response to supply variability and climate change.  Aquacraft worked with the City to prepare a water conservation plan that was vetted through a rigorous public process and approved by the Fort Collins City Council and the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

Download the Fort Collins Water Conservation Plan here.

Alexander Dawson School Efficiency Analysis (2008)

The goal at this Colorado private school was to increase student enrollment by 60% over ten years without increasing water consumption.  The savings had to be achieved through improving the efficiency of indoor uses and the swimming pool. All non-consumptive uses were provided by non-potable water.   The water efficiency audit performed by Aquacraft provided effective and efficient means for reducing water use at the current level of 21.7 gallons per student per day to 13.9 gpsd.

Colorado Drought and Water Supply Assessment (2007)

Aquacraft conducted a survey of water providers and water districts across the state to determine their water supply challenges, anticipated population growth, current water conservation programs, and drought preparedness.  Working with the Colorado Water Conservation Board's Office of Water Conservation and Drought Planning, Aquacraft designed and implemented the survey and prepared a report for the State based on the findings.

Download the full project report here.

Denver Water Library and Recreation Center Audits (2007)

The goal of this project was to examine indoor water use at 22 Denver Public Library branches, 30 Denver recreation centers and six outdoor pools to determine what cost-effective water conservation measures could be successfully employed to reduce demand.

Site audits were used to develop recommendations for best conservation measures; data logging was used to confirm site audit data and provided additional information on toilet volumes, peak usage, leakage, and zone-by-zone irrigation usage.  Potential water savings were projected for each site as well as for the facilities as a whole.  The recommended conservation measures, when implemented, will provide a savings of nearly 24 acre-feet annually.

City of Aurora Water Conservation Plan (2007)

Aurora Water serves approximately 306,908 people with 73,000 connections. Aurora contracted with Aquacraft to prepare a water conservation plan for the City that would comply with all the State of Colorado requirements.  Aquacraft worked closely with City staff and prepared a plan that was adopted and implemented by the City and approved by the State.

Download the Aurora Water Conservation Plan here.

Water Conservation Planning Support, Colorado Water Conservation Board (2006-2008)

The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), Office of Water Conservation and Drought Planning has a rigorous set of requirements that water conservation plans must meet in order to receive official approval from the State of Colorado.  The CWCB contracted with Aquacraft to provide a detailed technical review of water conservation plans submitted to the State and to identify areas that met and did not meet statutory requirements.  Through this process, Aquacraft reviewed approximately 20 water conservation plans for the CWCB.

Sacramento CII Water Use Reviews (2006)

Substantial conservation potential exists in the commercial, industrial, and institutional sector.  Aquacraft conducted detailed water use reviews on a wide variety of sites in the Sacramento area.  The reviews included an analysis of historic consumption, inventory of all water using fixtures, appliances, and equipment, and flow trace analysis to determine current state of efficiency.  Each site was presented with a detailed water use analysis including recommendations for cost effective conservation improvements.

Denver Water Residential Water Use and Drought Response Study (2005)

Denver Water was an original participant in the Residential End Uses of Water study.  In 2005, Aquacraft returned to the same sample of 100 homes in Denver and measured water use during the same time of year.  The purpose of this study was to determine how water use patterns have changed over the past 10 years and to what extent demand reductions achieved in response to the drought of 2002 will be permanent.

Evaluation of Water Savings from Pre-Rinse Spray Valves in Restaurants (2005)

Aquacraft developed and implemented a micro-metering system to measure the water used for rinsing dishes in restaurants.  Measurements were taken before and after installation of low-flow pre-rinse spray valves using data loggers on water meters and dishwasher motors.  Having dishwasher use data allowed the water use to be adjusted for variations in kitchen use.

Santa Paula, CA Residential Baseline Study (2005)

Working with RBF, Aquacraft conducted a study of the baseline residential demands in Santa Paul, CA.  This study involved collecting precise end use data using Aquacraft’s flow trace analysis technique as well a surveys of residents.

Download the project report here.

MASCO Environments for Living Evaluation (2005)

Aquacraft participated in a study of the water and energy savings achieved through the construction of new homes under the MASCO Environments for Living program.  This study included analysis of the water savings impacts of high efficiency toilets, clothes washers, showerheads, faucet aerators and on-demand hot water systems.  The impact of water efficient landscape designs coupled with properly installed weather based irrigation controllers was evaluated as well.

University of Colorado Mountain Research Station Conservation Plan (2005)

Aquacraft conducted a detailed demand audit and prepared a water conservation plan for the CU Mountain Research Station, located near the Continental Divide at 10,500 ft. above sea level.

City of Carnation Water Conservation Demand Analysis (2004-2005)

In late 2004 Aquacraft worked with the Pacific Institute, Carollo Engineers, and King County, Washington to determine the conservation potential evaluate the cost-effectiveness of water conservation in new and existing homes and businesses in the City of Carnation. Carnation is a small town that is currently not sewered. The County and the City are working together to provide a sanitary sewer system and treatment facility.

National Multiple-Family Submetering and Allocation Billing Program Study (2004)

Aquacraft lead a team that examined the impacts of submetering and RUBS billing in the multi-family sector.  This national study is of critical importance to the water industry and provides some of most statistically rigorous examinations of the impacts of metered and allocation billing. The study looked at the entire phenomena of submetering and allocation billing techniques examining the potential water savings, regulatory issues, utility concerns, water rates, and regulatory climate.  AWWA Journal "Best Paper" Award Winner - 2007.

Download the full project report here.

Seattle Market Penetration Study (2004)

The Seattle Market Penetration Study was designed to enable Seattle Public Utility to assess the effectiveness of their water conservation programs and the extent to which their customers have reduced water consumption through behavioral changes and conversion to water conserving fixtures and appliances.

University of Colorado – Student Housing Performance Contract (2003)

Working with the Brendle Group and the Siemens Corporation, Aquacraft conducted an investment grade audit of irrigation systems on the CU Boulder campus and provided technical support for interior retrofit audits.  Numerous facility improvement measures were identified that should greatly improve irrigation efficiency at CU.

AwwaRF Value of Water Study (2003)

Working with Stratus Consulting, Aquacraft developed case studies and provided end use information for the Value of Water Study, funded by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation. 

Download the executive summary here.

Water Conservation in Urban Supermarkets, (2003)

Urban supermarkets are major water users, especially their cooling equipment for refrigeration.  This was a two year study that performed detailed evaluations of three options under investigation by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for increasing the cycles of concentration in evaporative condensers in urban supermarkets.  After baseline data were collected a total of six stores were retrofit with the systems under study: alkalinity control, and two variations of electronic scale controllers.  The operation of the system in terms of both water use and the scale potential in the coolers was investigated.  Other water conservation options in the stores were investigated.  This study documented that a typical supermarket in Southern California can save up to 700 kgal/year, cost effectively, by implementing advanced treatment in its cooling systems plus a range of simple water conservation throughout the rest of the store.

Download the full project report here.

Seattle, EBMUD and Tampa Interior Retrofit Projects (2001-2004)

These projects carefully evaluated the impact of interior plumbing and fixture retrofits on single family homes.  A sample of approximately 30 homes was selected in each city and baseline water use and customer information data were obtained.  Next the homes were retrofit with best-available-technology toilets, clothes washers, showerheads, and faucet aerators.  Post retrofit water data were collected and analyzed using flow trace analysis technology.  The results show precise impacts of high efficiency plumbing fixtures and appliances on single family homes on a per household and per capita demand basis.  Customer satisfaction ratings were also obtained. 

• Download Water and Energy Savings from Water Efficiency Retrofits in 3 Cities report.
• Download Seattle retrofit report
• Download EBMUD retrofit report
• Download Tampa retrofit report
• Download 2007 magazine article based on these studies

Water Efficient Home Web Site (2003)

Working with the California Urban Water Conservation Council, Aquacraft developed substantial content for the virtual water efficient home web site.  Aquacraft also assisted in developing the original design for the award winning site.

Colorado Department of Human Services Water Rights Study (2003)

The Department of Human Services has been charged with achieving a 20% reduction of all utilities in the current fiscal year.  Aquacraft is working in association with Long Energy to determine the water rights available to DHS and the most efficient use and distribution of their water resources.

Pinellas County Utilities Water Conservation Opportunities Study, (2003)

Pinellas County Utilities, located just west of Tampa, Florida, has an active water conservation and alternative supplies program.  They came to Aquacraft and asked, “Where can we go from here to save water?”  This study measured water use in samples of single-family and multi-family homes and made recommendations for future water conservation programs that could achieve the most savings in this specific community.

Download the full project report here.

Dacono Water Supply and Conservation Plan (2002)

The Town of Dacono, Colorado anticipates significant growth in the coming years and needs to plan for a secure water future.  Aquacraft developed a long-term water demand forecast and conservation model that projected the impact of future development on supply for the town.  We also created a subdivision demand forecasting tool that the Town can use to determine how much water and what water rights a new development must dedicate as a condition of incorporation.

Download the full project report here.

Irrigation Demand Study for East Cherry Creek Valley Water District (2002)

The East Cherry Creek Water District (ECCWD), located near Aurora Colorado plans to build a raw water distribution system in the next few years, but was uncertain how much land could be irrigated given the limitations of their water rights, storage, and pumping capacity.  Aquacraft used micro flow metering technology to measure peak demand in 29 different irrigation systems that could potentially be served by the raw water system.  These results were used to develop a model to help size the system and determine how much land can be served by the system.

Download the full project report here.

Water Conservation Plan for City of Bozeman, MT (2001)

The City of Bozeman is situated in Gallatin Valley of Montana at the headwaters of the Missouri River.  Growth rates are high and the citizens place a very high value on the quality of their environment.  Aquacraft developed an integrated water demand/financial model, which showed the impacts of various water conservation options on the both water demands, capital spending and system finances. This model allowed the town to assess the potential of water conservation to delay several water treatment and storage projects.

Download the full project report here.

Commercial and Institutional End Uses of Water (2000)

This study set out to collect and analyze data on commercial and institutional end uses of water in five cities.  This study developed information on the most significant commercial and institutional customers in typical municipal water systems and the purposes for which these customers use water.  Aquacraft performed detailed water audits and implemented a variety of water use measurement programs to determine where water is used in these settings.  Report is available for purchase from AWWA.

Residential End Uses of Water (1999) 

In this three year project, funded in combination by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation and 14 cities across the US and Canada, disaggregated water use data were obtained from nearly 1200 single family residences.  In addition to characterizing water use in the single-family sector, these data were used to develop a model of residential water use based on the demographic characteristics of the households and the specific water using fixtures and appliances present.

 The database developed for this study includes a table of over 1.9 million individual water use events that have been analyzed according to end use, volume, start time, flow rate, and duration. These were obtained from scientifically selected samples from the single-family residential customers in each city.  The database also includes a table of daily use for each household and extensive survey information that provides information on physical and demographic characteristics.

Download the executive summary here.

Industrial, Commercial, and Irrigation Water Study and Conservation Plan, Westminster, CO (2001)

The goals of this project were to evaluate ICI water demands in Westminster, identify and evaluate potential conservation programs, develop a long range conservation plan and demand tracking tools, and pilot test various conservation measures.

Analysis of Southern Nevada Xeriscape Project (2000)

Aquacraft performed a detailed evaluation of a Xeriscape conversion program in Las Vegas. Fifty participants in the program were compared against 50 traditionally landscaped customers.  Flow trace analysis techniques were used to separate indoor and outdoor consumption in the 100 study houses. Significant savings were found among Xeriscape homes. Report is available from Aquacraft.

Download the full project report here.

Water Conservation Futures Study, Boulder, CO (2000)

The City of Boulder is fortunate to have an abundant supply of high quality water, and they do not project any shortages in water supply between current conditions and build out.  Nonetheless, the City recognizes that there are demand management issues to address both from the perspective of equity in the billing system and in the need to identify other potential uses for its water resources (such as in-stream flow maintenance).  Aquacraft is part of the team hired by the City to conduct an analysis of the future of water conservation in Boulder.

Download the full project report here.

Water Conservation Plan, Thornton, CO (1998)

The City of Thornton is faced with one of the highest growth rates in Colorado, and a very expensive new water supply.  The impacts of water conservation on their system could be dramatic.  Aquacraft, in conjunction with HDR consultants completed a water conservation plan for Thornton to determine the impact of a range of conservation measures on the City’s water supply. All conservation measures will be compared to the City’s structural alternatives in terms of yield and cost.

Water Efficiency in Water Wise and Standard New Homes, (2000)

Aquacraft conducted a study in Westminster Colorado to determine how water use in specially designed “Water Wise” homes compares with other new homes built at the same time.  This project will measure the impact of the 1993 Federal plumbing codes compared to homes equipped with advanced efficient plumbing fixtures including conserving clothes washers and re-circulating hot water systems.  Aquacraft’s flow trace analysis technique was used to measure end uses in each of the 40 participating study homes.

Evaluation of Soil Moisture Sensors in Field Applications, (1996-1998)

Working with the City of Boulder, Aquacraft tested the efficacy of the Watermark soil moisture sensor system in a variety of settings including single-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial, and urban parks.  Results show that these devices, while not perfect, can be an effective tool for controlling automatic irrigation systems and limiting application rates to ET.

Comparison of Demand Patterns among Residential and CI Customers, Westminster, CO (1998)  

Westminster, Colorado is a growing community in the Denver metropolitan area.  The city is working on the development of a cost of service based rate system.  In order to assist with this effort Aquacraft has collected flow trace data on a series of single family, multi-family, irrigation, and commercial accounts during peak demand period for the City.  These data have been used to develop daily and hourly peaking factors for each category and a set of normalized demand parameters for use in projecting demands in future customers.  

Westminster, Peak Demands Study (1996)

As part of its water planning process, the City of Westminster needed information on daily and hourly peaking factors for its major classes of customers.  Aquacraft conducted a baseline study of peak use in single family, multifamily, irrigation, and commercial/industrial customers for the City.  This study generated peak use factors as ratios to average day demands and in terms of gallons per day per unit. 

Centennial Valley Water GIS (1997)

In order to determine the amount of wastewater being generated from an area of mixed development in Louisville, CO., Aquacraft developed a geographical information system which linked water billing and mapping information, thus allowing determinations to be made on deliveries of treated water to areas tributary to any specified portion of the sanitary sewer system.  This system showed in which areas large discrepancies existed between measured wastewater flows and treated water deliveries and identified areas of probable I&I into the sanitary sewer system. 

Heatherwood Residential End Use Study (1995)

The grand-daddy of Aquacraft's residential end use studies.  This study of water use in a small neighborhood in Boulder, Colorado proved the concept of flow trace analysis for disaggretating indoor residential water use.

Download Peter Mayer's Master's Thesis (i.e. - the full Heatherwood study) here.

MCDB Water Use Study  (1994) 

The University of Colorado faced a wastewater Plant Investment Fee of $219,000 for an expansion to the Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology building on the Boulder Campus.  A detailed study and water audit of the water and wastewater flow patterns and waste loadings was conducted which determined that the appropriate charges would be $52,000, a savings of $167,000.

Colorado Water Conservation Model (1993) 

In order to implement the 1991 Water Conservation Act, the State of Colorado authorized the development of an integrated water system operations and economic model (CIRCE) which will allow system managers to asses both the hydrologic and financial consequences of alternative water management strategies.  This allows an objective assessment of the relative benefits of both structural (supply side) and non-structural (demand side) projects.