Who uses the water?
Dallas’ water is used almost equally between two groups of people: Dallas residents (this category includes residents and businesses in the Dallas Water Utilities service area) and customer cities.
How much water is being used? What is the water used for?
Dallas Water Utilities supplies around 470 million gallons per day to its customers. The average Dallas resident uses around 145 gallons of water per day for drinking, bathing, cooking, landscaping, etc. Half of Dallas’ residential water is used for residential landscaping. Dallas’ customer cities need both treated water (for human consumption) and untreated water (for irrigation).
What has Dallas done to conserve more water?
Since Dallas uses half of its water for landscaping, the City has enacted two different watering restrictions in an effort to conserve water. These restrictions include watering no more than twice a week and no watering during the hours of 10 am – 6 pm. These restrictions reduced water consumption by over 20%, or 130 million gallons per day (from almost 600 MGD to just under 470 MGD).
The City of Dallas is also taking other measures to increase water conservation. One key initiative is focused on businesses. The City of Dallas will grant these businesses cash subsidies to meet water saving targets. In total, these 14 projects have saved between 90 million and 168 million gallons per year, or between 247 and 460 thousand gallons per day.
The City of Dallas also already saves almost 20 million gallons a year through a project called “New Throne for your Home.” This project will replace residents’ old toilets for free. Dallas Water Utilities says it plans to use water usage data to target customers who will potentially qualify for free, minor plumbing repairs, which already saves the city 3 million gallons per year, or over 8,000 gallons per day.
Even though it seems like each of these conservation projects do not save a considerable amount of water, water savings will add up and these projects will help Dallas save lots of water in the long run.
What is the projected growth in demand?
The current water demand is 470 million gallons per day, and by 2070, the water demand is projected to be 700 million gallons per day (a 70% increase). However, there are two factors that determine the demand: population and per person consumption.
Population
The current population that Dallas Water Utilities serves is 3.2 million. By 2070, this number will double to 6.4 million people. This represents an estimated 1.45% population growth per annum, which is slightly lower than the 1.6% per annum growth Dallas saw over the past few years. Despite the slightly lower per annum growth, the absolute population is still expected to double.
Per person consumption
Even though the population will double by 2070, Dallas’ water demand only goes up by 70%. The average Dallas resident currently uses almost 145 gallons per day. By 2070, the average resident is projected to use only 110 gallons, which is a 25% decrease from 50 years prior. This estimate is driven by continued conservation strategies to be implemented by both Dallas residents and Dallas Water Utilities’ customer cities.
Image: Dallas water demand projections for the next 50 years.
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