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In numerous countries around the world, citizens now insist that water utilities prove that they are water efficient before elected officials approve new supply projects. The challenge today is to integrate demand management into long-range water supply planning to achieve an appropriate balance between capacity expansion and demand management. This paper demonstrates this concept through three case studies: in Lower Clarence County, New South Wales, Australia, a demand management plan was developed to lower demand and defer capital facilities, while meeting water saving targets in an agreement to construct a new water supply reservoir; at Metropolitan Waterworks Authority, Bangkok Thailand, demand management was shown to be a cost-effective way to meet future needs of the Bangkok area as population expands 35 percent to over 11,000,000 in the next twenty years; and, at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, Washington DC, plans to build considerable new infrastructure to support growth are now controversial with the public because demand has leveled off. Demand management programs already in place, including the national plumbing standards, were shown to reduce demand 10 percent over 30 years. The present value of these savings was $122 million. The conclusion of the paper is that proven methodologies for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of demand management programs can reduce demand and save the utility and its customer's considerable money over time. Includes tables, figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 01/01/2002 Number of Pages: 18 File Size: 1 file , 620 KB