In this issue’s Q&A, Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, interviews Paula Paciorek, Water Programs Manager for Houston Public Works.

Paula Paciorek joined Houston Public Works in February 2019 and is responsible for developing and guiding the strategy for water conservation efforts in Houston via the implementation of best management practices for the city and its residential, industrial, commercial, institutional, and wholesale customers.

Since joining Houston Public Works, Paciorek has focused on strengthening the city’s water conservation efforts by developing and implementing a wide range of programs, events, and campaigns, including the Smart Utility Check-Up, the Wholesale Water Conservation Program, the Houston’s Water Loss Task Force, the Water Works Festival, Imagine a Day Without Water, Fix-A-Leak Week, the Semi-Annual Rain Barrel Sale Program, the award-winning campaign “Protect Our Pipes,” and the state-wide campaign Texas Runs on Water, piloted as “Houston Runs on Water” in the Houston region.  

Paciorek has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in applied geography from the University of Louisville (where she lived 10 years prior to moving to Houston in 2012) and has more than 12 years of experience in program development in the water sector

How many people rely upon Houston Public Works for their water and does your service area include all of Harris County and any areas outside of Harris County?

The city of Houston supplies water to 2.3 million retail customers located within the city limits. These include residential single- and multi-family customers as well as commercial, institutional, and industrial customers. In addition, the city supplies water to 64 wholesale treated water customers, which supply water to an additional 2.7 million people. These wholesale customers service areas both inside and outside Harris County limits. Some examples are Central Harris County Regional Water Authority, North Fort Bend County Water Authority, North Harris County Regional Water Authority, West Harris County Regional Water Authority, La Porte Water Authority, and Gulf Coast Water Authority. In addition to regional water authorities, the city also provides water other entities under the Groundwater Reduction Plan.

How does the water you provide break down between municipal, commercial and industrial users?

Over the last 5 years (2017–2021), single-family water use has averaged 30%, multi-family water use has averaged 33%, and institutional, commercial, and industrial (ICI) water use has averaged 37% of the total retail consumption.

What is Houston’s per capita water use and has it changed over the last 20 years?

The 2009 City of Houston Water Conservation Plan found that the 2004 total gallons per capita per day (GPCD) was 140 and the residential GPCD was 74. Almost 20 years later, the 2021 total GPCD was 116 and the residential GPCD was 60, a decline of 24 and 14 gallons, respectively. Because total GPCD includes ICI consumption and the water loss associated with the retail water use, it is currently not considered an accurate metric to use to reflect cities’ average consumption, as ICI accounts consumption cannot (should not) be measured on a per capita basis, and the additional associated water loss further convolutes it. However, it is still often used and reported as a measure of general water use.

What are the programs and strategies that Houston Public Works uses to encourage more efficient use of water?

For many years, Houston has offered great educational programs to the public, including its signature event the Water Works Festival, K-12 tours to the Water Works Education Center, Project WET teacher training, and involvement in hundreds of community outreach events.

Beginning in 2019, Houston Water hired me as their Water Conservation Division Manager and tasked me with the development of its Water Conservation Program to ensure future target goals for water demand reduction would be met. Since then, in an effort to diversify our educational outreach, Houston Water developed and implemented several educational campaigns and programs including Imagine a Day Without Water, Fix-A-Leak Week Workshops, the Winter Sprinkler Shutoff campaign, and a robust social media plan to support these programs as well as summer tips and more. During this time, Houston also piloted the Texas Water Foundation’s state-wide campaign Texas Runs on Water, implemented with the tagline “Houston Runs on Water,” which appeared in paid social media ads, grocery stores, and airports.

During 2020–2021, Houston Water partnered with Imperial Utilities & Sustainability, Inc., developing and implementing the Smart Utility Check-Up program, providing free utility assessments to all Houston’s commercial customers, and contracted Goldwater Project LLC to develop the Wholesale Water Conservation Program, a planning tool for Houston’s wholesale treated water customers. The program provides water use projections and quantified conservation scenarios by utilizing each utility’s data and supports their annual obligation to submit a water conservation and water loss report to the Texas Water Development Board.  

During the same period, Houston Water partnered with the Houston Green Building Resource Center and provided a subsidy to the already established biannual Rain Barrel Sale Program. The subsidy was a huge success and increased rain barrel sales threefold. Consequently, the subsidy program is now offered every year during the spring event. At the end of 2020, Houston Water implemented its first Water Loss Task Force to track and measure water loss control efforts in the areas of real and apparent water loss as well as auditing water loss, with the goal of reducing water loss to 10% or less by 2029, from a baseline of 19%.

To better understand what the most cost-effective conservation programs that could yield concrete water savings for Houston are, Houston contracted Texas State University (through a grant from the Harris Galveston Subsidence District) to develop a conservation study for Houston. This study was instrumental in providing Houston with guidance on program development and implementation for the next five to 10 years. Currently, Houston Water is in the process of developing a high-efficiency toilet and showerhead program for multi-family complexes, measures that showed the highest cost-benefit ratio on the Texas State University study. Houston Water has also partnered with the Alliance for Water Efficiency to develop a Water Affordability and Conservation Assessment for Houston, which is slated to be completed by the end of September 2022 and is evaluating other programs and partnerships to continue enhancing its water conservation program.

In 2022, Houston Water allocated additional funds to outsource and develop a robust water conservation plan that aligns with the Region H Water Planning Group’s water conservation goals, showing its continuing commitment to the sustainable use of its water resources

What are the primary tools that Houston Public Works uses to reduce water use during droughts, and which tool seems to be the most effective?

Depending on the level of severity of drought, Houston evaluates the implementation of its drought contingency plan, which has four stages. The stages primarily focus on limiting outdoor irrigation to twice per week between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. (to reduce evaporation) and repairing home leaks (faucets, toilets, or other). Stage 1 is voluntary, and stage 2 is mandatory. In stage 3 and 4, all outdoor watering is prohibited (with certain exceptions and options for variances), and specifically in stage 4, indoor single and multi-family water use is limited to 4,000 gallons per month (per household/per unit), and ICI customers are requested to reduce their water use by 15% from their baseline (or other recommended percentage by the director).

In addition, Houston is currently in the process of developing a drought and conservation campaign to support the implementation of the drought contingency plan (when in effect) or conservation practices throughout the rest of the year (for non-drought months). Houston expects to implement this campaign beginning in August 2022 through various media outlets, such as social media, radio, TV streaming, and more.