Looking Into Data Part 2

Sowmithra M -

Hey everyone! This will be a shorter blog post as I’m continuing much of what I was doing last week. I’ve finished sorting through the initial data for Miami and Detroit. Today, I will get started on data on Phoenix’s urban water system. Dr. Garcia has the most data on Phoenix out of the 3 cities because of proximity and relation. This task will most likely take me 2-3 days due to the large quantity. After I’m done with Phoenix’s data, I will start to compare each of the cities within the 4 categories mentioned last week. As a reminder, those 4 categories are hydrology and climate, water supply infrastructure, structure of the utility, and characteristics of the community. I will be conducting this comparison to see how cities respond differently to water stress. On top of sifting through data, I am also continuing background readings, but shifting the theme from institutional structures’ effect on water systems to the general factors pushing water conservation policies and how to measure them. I’m specifically taking a look at the Vanderbilt Water Conservation Index and the American Water Works Association’s survey and index. Finally, I’ve found a lot of sustainable urban water management meetings and recorded webinars for all 3 cities. I will be organizing the videos according to relevance and importance. Then, I will choose 2-3 meetings/videos per city to actually attend. Thus far, I am enjoying this field of research. That’s all for this week! 

 

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    camillebennett
    Hi Sowmithra, this is great work! I'd love to hear more about what the Vanderbilt Water and the American Water Works indexes. How do these work? What do they measure?
    sowmithra_m
    Hi Ms. Bennett! Both indices are a way to measure water conservation measures. The American Water Works index has fewer categories of such measures than when compared to the Vanderbilt Water Conservation Index, making Vanderbilt's index more comprehensive and accurate at picking up variances. Examples of these 'categories' include drought plans, general structure, commercial/industrial requirements/rebates/other, and residential requirements/rebates/other. Examples of water conservation policies include landscape water audits, interior plumbing retrofits, pricing policies, support for water efficiency, and educational outreach.

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