The State Water Board hosted a Data Innovation Challenge in the Spring of 2016. The focus was on creating apps, visualizations, and other tools that demonstrate the use of data beyond what is currently being done. The CWEE team, led by Computational Data Research Specialist Andrew Holguin, received runner-up in the California Green Gov Challenge for their application CA H2Open.

CA H2Open application creates a visualization of how the 400+ California water utilities responded to the Governor’s mandate of 25% statewide water use in urban water suppliers relative to 2013 levels. In addition to displaying a summary of water use relative to the conservation target for each district, the application also calculates the electricity savings associated with the reduced demand on water infrastructure services using estimates of average energy intensity per hydrologic region. One of the significant findings is that the electricity savings associated with the observed achievements in water conservation is roughly equivalent to the total first-year electricity savings estimated for all of the energy IOU efficiency programs implemented in the period from July through September 2015 (the period where data was available for both initiatives). In addition, the water conservation-related GHG savings over the entire period of the mandate (June 2015 through February 2016), represent the equivalent of taking about 50,000 cars off the road for a year.

The application and additional background information can be found online at CA H2Open.