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123 The next graph depicts the average quarterly wintertime usage for single-family homes. Because it <br />124 excludes summer lawn & garden irrigation months, the graph is indicative what single-family homes use <br />125 for `normal' household usage such as laundry, showering/bathing, etc. <br />126 <br />127 <br />128 <br />129 <br />130 <br />131 <br />SF Homes Average Water Usage (000's gals.) <br />November - March <br />15.0 <br />14.0 <br />13.0 <br />12.0 <br />11.0 <br />fli <br />10.0 <br />9.0 <br />- <br />07-'08 08-'09 09-'10 10-'11 11-'12 12-'13 13-'14 14-'15 15-'16 <br />■ Avg. Consumption (Gals.) <br />As shown in the graph, the average overall usage for single-family homes in the wintertime has remained <br />relatively stable since 2007 with a variance of only about 2,000 gallons from year to year. <br />132 On the surface, the data suggests that customer behavior and consumption patterns were not influenced <br />133 by changes in the water usage fees in either direction. This may have occurred because the financial <br />134 incentive or penalty to modify a household's behavior was simply not large enough. Then again, it could <br />135 mean that most households simply held to an established standard of cleanliness, while remaining mindful <br />136 of societal norms associated with water conservation. <br />137 <br />138 This seems to be evidenced when the water usage fee dropped from $2.35 per thousand gallons in 2008 <br />139 to $1.85 in 2009 as part of an overall rate structure change. This effectively lowered the cost of <br />140 consumption by 20%. Despite these favorable circumstances, household usage remained unchanged. <br />141 <br />142 Finally, we can look at the average quarterly summertime usage for single-family homes to gauge whether <br />143 water usage behaviors are influenced by seasonal factors such as lawn & garden irrigation. In this <br />144 instance, we need to also track local rainfall totals because it can influence how much water households <br />145 use for outdoor purposes. <br />146 <br />Page 7 of 11 <br />