HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 11g - Water Conservation Education Software
DATE: September 4, 2018
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Tom Tait, Public Works Services Director
By: Mandy Jiang, Management Aide
SUBJECT: EXTENSION TO THE SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH WATERSMART
SOFTWARE, INC. TO PROVIDE WATER CONSERVATION
EDUCATION SOFTWARE FOR ARCADIA WATER CUSTOMERS IN
THE AMOUNT OF $181,622
Recommendation: Approve
SUMMARY
The existing Agreement with WaterSmart Software, Inc. approved by the City Council
on May 19, 2015, is expiring and the vendor has offered a three-year extension at a
reduced price. The proposed Extension to the Services Agreement ensures continuing
service to new and existing Arcadia utility residential customers. The Home Water
Reports and WebPortal supplied by WaterSmart provide residents with individualized
household water use goals and water conservation tips.
The proposed three-year extension of services agreement amount is $181,622 and will
be paid at an annual rate of $60,541. It is recommended that the City Council approve,
and authorize and direct the City Manager to execute a contract with WaterSmart
Software, Inc. to provide water conservation education software for Arcadia water
customers.
BACKGROUND
In November 2009, Senate Bill (“SB X7-7”) was enacted to require water agencies,
including the City of Arcadia, to increase water use efficiency and reduce per capita
water use by 20% by 2020. According to the 2010 Urban Water Management Plan
adopted by City Council on June 21, 2011, the City of Arcadia set a 2015 interim target
of 265 gallons per capita per day (“GPCD”), and a 2020 final target of 236 GPCD. The
2015 target was met and, while the City is on track to meet the 2020 standard, water
savings have backslid statewide and locally since Governor Brown declared the drought
emergency over through Executive Order B-40-17.
Extension to the Services Agreement
with WaterSmart Software, Inc.
September 4, 2018
Page 2 of 4
As California continues to experience unpredictable weather conditions and water
conservation remains of state legislative interest, it is beneficial to the City and
community to continue efficient water use habits. Furthermore, the Governor directed
the State Water Board to build upon a long-term framework for water conservation as
declared in his previous Executive Order B-37-16. This long-term framework to make
water conservation a “California Way of Life” involves the development of new water
use efficiency targets based on local factors such as evapotranspiration rates, GPCD,
and irrigable landscape area.
In order to continue on the path to meet the City’s 20% by 2020 water use target, the
City of Arcadia remains in Phase I of the Mandatory Water Conservation Program –
Water Use Prohibitions. This includes prohibitions on wasteful water use such as
sprinkler runoff, washing down driveways or sidewalks, and providing water in
restaurants unless requested by the customer. Additionally, this includes seasonal
outdoor watering of grass and landscape – two times a week during winter months and
three times a week during summer months.
DISCUSSION
WaterSmart Software is the leading cloud-based customer engagement and analytics
platform for water utilities, helping utilities educate and engage with customers to
improve water use efficiency and increase customer satisfaction. Under the proposed
contract, WaterSmart's customer-engagement platform includes mailed Home Water
Reports, a WebPortal for customers, and a Dashboard for Public Works Services staff.
Through customer education and engagement, incremental gains in water efficiency at
the household level translate into system -wide savings necessary to comply with the
City’s 236 GPCD target under SB X7-7.
Additionally, WaterSmart is the only technology that incorporates all of the following
services in its solution:
Utility Dashboard
Customer communication tools for individual and group communication
New Form function for targeted customer engagement and program
participation
Consumption and behavior analytics by customer class
Potential leak/high use alerts and resolution notification by email, text,
automated call, or outbound print notifications.
Customer Leak Resolution feedback to staff
Water use trend analysis by all customer classes
Extension to the Services Agreement
with WaterSmart Software, Inc.
September 4, 2018
Page 3 of 4
Home Water Reports
Emailed bi-monthly, individualized Home Water Reports based on household
water consumption gallons by day with water saving recommendations
Use comparison to similar properties by lot size, number of occupants, etc.
Customized utility messaging
Customer Web Portal
Targeted water saving recommendations
Historical water consumption and trend analysis by account
A water-use disaggregation model to estimate the volum e of water used in
different household functions (shower, toilet, dishes, irrigation, etc.)
A comprehensive recommendation library of over 100 water saving actions,
personalized for location, household type, and water utility need.
Leak/high use alert and resolution process
The contract with WaterSmart Software, Inc. was approved by the City Council in 2015.
The program included establishing a control group to quantify water saved. The 1,750
customers in the control group did not receive mailed Home Water Reports, while the
9,250 single-family customers in the treatment group did. To date, the cumulative result
from 2015 to 2018 was 3.1% over those that did not receive notices, for a water savings
of 441.8 acre-feet (“AF”).
The amount of water saved in terms of replacement water cost for Fiscal Year 2017-18
($798.00 per AF) equals $352,556. The total cost of the original contract amounted to
$241,250; $92,750 for the initial year and $74,250 for each subsequent year for the next
2 years. Thus, WaterSmart’s Home Water Reports yielded a net cost savings of
$111,306 from 2015 to 2018. As the cost of replacement water continues to increase,
the benefit of water conserved will increase.
Although the savings were somewhat modest, continuing conservation education is
essential to sustainable community water use. The proposed contract extension
ensures continuing service to new and existing Arcadia single-family residential
customers who have signed up to receive Home Water Reports . In order to encourage
the City to remain on the program, WaterSmart has offered to discount its annual fee to
$60,541. Should the City continue to see the same water conservation levels, at current
replacement water costs, the City would see a savings of over $117,500 per year, which
would mean a net savings of approximately $57,000 annually by participating in this
program. Over the three year life of the agreement, net savings would total over
$171,000.
Extension to the Services Agreement
with WaterSmart Software, Inc.
September 4, 2018
Page 4 of 4
Because WaterSmart is a robust, patent-pending, one-of-a-kind software solution, the
contract would constitute a sole source agreement. WaterSmart is successfully
contracted with 34 California cities and water utilities, including the Cities of Glendale,
Pasadena, Los Angeles, Buena Park, and Irvine Ranch Water District.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The proposed action does not constitute a project under the California Environmental
Quality Act (“CEQA”), and it can be seen with certainty that it will have no impact on the
environment. Thus, this matter is exempt under CEQA.
FISCAL IMP ACT
Sufficient funds for the proposed three-year contract totaling $181,622, billed at an
annual rate of $60,541, are available in the Fiscal Year 2018-19 Operating Budget in
the Water Fund. The annual cost for WaterSmart will be budgeted in subsequent
operating budgets in the Water Fund. In addition, at the option of the City, the
agreement may be extended for an additional one-year period.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that that the City Council approve, and authorize and direct the City
Manager to execute an Extension to the Services Agreement with WaterSmart
Software, Inc. to provide water conservation education software for Arcadia water
customers in the amount of $181,622.
Attachment: Proposed Extension to the Services Agreement with WaterSmart
Software, Inc.
Extension of Services Agreement
WaterSmart Software, Inc. (“WaterSmart”) and City of Arcadia (“Utility”) would like to confirm
an extension of their Services Agreement originally dated May 26, 2015 (the “Agreement”).
The current term of the Agreement ends on August 27, 2018. WaterSmart and Utility agree
to extend the Agreement for an additional period, which will begin immediately upon the
expiration of the current term and will end on September 1, 2021. In addition, at the option
of Utility, the Agreement may be extended for an additional one-year period (“Option Year”).
WaterSmart will continue to provide the services at the price specified in Table 1 below for
the Option Year unless Utility notifies WaterSmart of its decision to not continue with the
Option Year in writing no later than 90 days prior to the beginning of a new Option Year.
Unless otherwise specified herein, WaterSmart will provide the same services previously listed
in Exhibit A, the Scope of Work, of the Agreement. Pricing for this extension term are listed
below, there are no changes in scope. All other terms and conditions previously agreed to in
the Agreement, including insurance requirements and provisions, remain in force. In addition,
Utility agrees to additional terms for the extended messaging services (Exhibit A -1).
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UPDATED PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
Program Overview
Program Length : 3 years
Current Accounts :
14,000 Total Accounts
Meter Data :
AMR/Manual
AMI
Rolling Reads
Dashboard and Portal
Utility Analytics Dashboard : Profiles for all accounts
Customer Portal : Access for all accounts
Additional Portal Languages :
Spanish
UK English
Group Messenger & List Builder
Alerts and Notifications
Leak Detection : All Single Family Residential (SFR) Accounts
Leak Alerts : All Single Family Residential (SFR) Accounts (exluding Control
Group)
Email, SMS Text, Automated Voice
Print
Use Notifications : Access for all accounts
Electronic Bill Presentment & Payments
Bill Display :
Bill Amount Due/Bill History Display
PDF Bill Display
Paperless Billing (requires PDF Bill Display)
Payment Website Integration :
Link to Existing Payments Portal from Customer Portal via generic
URL
Single-Sign On (SSO) with current payment vendor as identity
provider
Embedded Payment Pages from payment partner
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Customer Letter
Sent to all accounts with Portal access to provide Portal login, in advance
of program
Water Reports
Residential Recipients : 10,000 Accounts
Residential Control Group : 2,500 Accounts
Non-Residential Recipients
Frequency :
First Term:
Per each subsequent term:
Recipients to be selected during initialization. If all accounts (excluding
control group) are included in the initial selection, enrollment will be
ongoing.
Additional Services
On-Site Training
Special Circumstances
None
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The pricing and invoicing schedule for services during this extension term are shown below in
Table 1.
Table 1: Fee and Invoicing Schedule
Program
Feature
Description Annual Fee Invoicing
schedule
Services
Fee: Years
1-3
Access to Utility Analytics Dashboard and
Customer Portal, Delivery of Print and Email
Water Reports throughout Program, and Support
& Customer Service
$60,541 Annually,
upon start of
program year
Total Fee $181,622
SIGNATURES ON NEXT PAGE
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In witness whereof the Parties have executed this Extension of Services Agreement on
the date set forth below.
CITY OF ARCADIA WATERSMART SOFTWARE, INC.
By____________________________ By__________________________
Dominic Lazzaretto Signature
City Manager
Date: ________________________ _____________________________
Print Name and Title
ATTEST: Date _________________________
_______________________ By___________________________
City Clerk Signature
APPROVED AS TO FORM: _____________________________
Print Name and Title
___________________________ Date: ________________________
Stephen P. Deitsch
City Attorney CONCUR:
_____________________________
Tom Tait
Public Works Services Director