The Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), in conjunction
with Pinellas County, Florida, is in the process of developing a pilot program to reduce
water demand in the institutional, commercial, and industrial (ICI) sector. While much
has been accomplished in residential water conservation, little success has been realized
in the ICI sector, a major source of water demand. Therefore, the pilot program plans to
test the effectiveness of private sector performance-based contracting to achieve
reductions in process (non-domestic) water demand. Financial incentives to ICI
customers are expected to be in the form of rebates based on "gallons of water saved per
year" for process water conservation measures. The pilot program will offer ICI
customers a complete water conservation delivery system, including water use survey,
conservation system design and installation, and savings measurement and verification, in
contrast to the more common offering of free surveys and/or rebates without a direct
method for the ICI customer to procure a water conservation program.
The pilot program will target the largest ICI water users including hospitals,
schools, colleges, hotels, and industrial facilities. Although still in the planning stages,
financial incentives to these customers are anticipated to be one time rebates equal to
approximately $7.00 (the current charge for water and sewer) per 1,000 gallons of water
saved in one year, with savings based on pre- and post-installation measurements of
process water use. The rebates are independent of conservation installation costs and are
based solely on water savings. Participating ICI customers will pay approximately 75%
of the cost of a comprehensive water conservation project with the rebate covering
approximately 25% of the cost. Net paybacks, including the value of the rebates, are
expected to be 2 to 3 years.