Celebrating Two Billion Gallons: How We're Shaping the Future of Water Conservation

Back in March 2015, we proudly announced that we had saved one billion gallons of water—an achievement that marked nearly 14 years of dedication since our first utility customer in Cotati, California. This milestone was not just a testament to our business model, but a powerful affirmation of our mission to revolutionize the way the world uses water.

Fast forward to today, and we’re thrilled to share that we've now surpassed the incredible milestone of two billion gallons saved. This achievement is more than just a number; it represents a collective effort with our utility partners and their customers. Together, we’ve saved nearly $13 million and avoided 20,000 tons of CO2 emissions—proof that our mission is making a tangible impact.

To put this into perspective, we thought of creative comparisons for comparable water volumes and then illustrated the results in a new infographic: 

• Golf Courses: The average golf course uses over 82,000 gallons of water daily for irrigation. Our two billion gallons equate to the water usage of 15,372 golf courses.
• Bathtubs: With each bathtub holding about 50 gallons, two billion gallons could fill nearly 40 million bathtubs.
• Households: In the U.S., a single-family home uses about 300 gallons of water daily. Two billion gallons represents the annual water consumption of 20,000 households.
• Bellagio Fountains: The Bellagio Hotel’s iconic lake holds 22 million gallons. Our achievement is equivalent to 91 of these impressive fountains.
• Human Bodies: With each person containing roughly 12 gallons of water, our two billion gallons represent the equivalent of over 180 million people—more than the population of Bangladesh and slightly fewer than Nigeria.

These figures highlight not only the vast quantity of water saved but also the intrinsic value of water—an aspect often overlooked.

One of our ongoing missions is to raise awareness about the importance of water conservation and to address the challenges faced by the water industry in reflecting the true cost of water delivery.

• Expanded Data Ingestion: We now support data from all types of water users, including commercial, industrial, and multi-family, enhancing our ability to drive efficiency across diverse sectors.
• Enhanced Communication Tools: Our new engagement features allow utilities to effectively communicate important information to all customer segments, beyond single-family residences.
• Unified Consumption Insights: Users managing multiple properties can now view and analyze consumption data in a single interface, facilitating more informed decisions on efficiency investments.
• Advanced Analytics: Our Utility Analytics Dashboard now supports multi-meter class reports, streamlining trend analysis and targeting for improved operational efficiency.

While these might be interesting factoids on their own, the bigger message is that this is both a whole lot of water and water is incredibly valuable to us in many ways that we don’t commonly consider.

Water managers can, for example, harness the power of default options by automatically enrolling residents in programs to improve water-use efficiency, and giving them the option to leave the program if they choose. Some research indicates that relatively few people make the effort to opt out. In one instance, just 57 of 20,000 automatically enrolled households chose not to participate in an energy reduction program. 

One effective way to change how people use water is by educating them about its value.

Water conservation and efficiency are more critical than ever. With climate change and growing populations intensifying global water issues, it's vital to act now. By leveraging insights from behavioral science, we have a significant chance to cut down residential water use.

Combining educational information with financial incentives and robust programs that consider social and psychological factors can help stakeholders ensure everyone has reliable access to water.

Often, we take water for granted, which complicates the water industry's ability to charge appropriately for its procurement, treatment, and delivery. A deeper understanding of where our water comes from, what it takes to get it to us, and its journey after use can foster greater appreciation for this essential resource. Together, we can make the necessary investments to secure our water future for generations to come.