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for residents on their utility bills to reduce reliance as a whole, serving as a <br /> sustainability issue. <br /> Chair Cihacek noted an option could be for the city to purchase in bulls number <br /> water saving showerheads for distribution with a possible credit on customer utility <br /> bills accordingly. However, Chair Cihacek questioned if the nominal cost of the <br /> purchase and limited savings along with time for staff to administer such a program <br /> was worth the effort, even though it addressed education and met multiple points <br /> in the Plan. <br /> Member Seigler suggested getting more bang for the buck by using less water over <br /> the summer versus shower heads. Member Seigler suggested focusing that effort <br /> during the spring to address irrigation or lawn/garden watering as an educational <br /> effort and addressing frequency, etc. opining that would have a much more <br /> significant impact for the city's water usage. <br /> Mr. Culver referenced a program used by the City of Woodbury last summer, and <br /> researched further by Mr. Sandstrom, for a pilot program using smarter irrigation <br /> controllers that monitored actual soil moisture in the ground and adjusted irrigation <br /> systems accordingly. Mr. Culver admitted they were expensive to install and <br /> difficult to maintain, yet could provide a quick benefit. Mr. Culver noted a less <br /> costly and easier to maintain system would be irrigation sensors or controls that <br /> could be managed via the Internet as weather forecasts were viewed, including <br /> future rain projections and a history of rain to-date compared to programmed data <br /> for yard needs depending on type and amount of lawn, and/or vegetable/flower <br /> gardens. Mr. Culver advised that the system automatically adjusted how much <br /> water the irrigation system received and constantly adjusted the system <br /> accordingly. <br /> If the City of Roseville considered a similar pilot program, Mr. Culver suggested it <br /> could first focus on townhome associations to use controllers and see what kinds of <br /> savings were realized before moving forward. However, Mr. Culver noted the need <br /> to determine whether to do so from an educational standpoint or apply for grants <br /> for rebates from other agencies interested in reducing water usage across the <br /> metropolitan area. <br /> Discussion ensued related to kinds of programs or rebate options available, with <br /> Mr. Sandstrom providing various examples(e.g. City of Eden Prairie);comparables <br /> with other metropolitan communities operating their own treatment plants and <br /> having their own wells and pumping water out of the ground and their more <br /> significant and direct correlations than the City of Roseville using surface water <br /> through St. Paul Regional Water Services. However, Mr. Culver noted there was <br /> the big picture component simply dollars saved, which could provide incentive for <br /> spending money out of their annual budget. <br /> Page 5 of 17 <br />