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Frequently Asked Questions
For C2E Participants
How is my Water Use Score calculated?
Your Water Use Score will be a whole number, ranging from 0-9 and weighs three different sub-scores. The three different scores are determined by three water use characteristics and the scores are determined in a look-up table that assigns a value from 0-9 for each characteristic. The three characteristics are:
- % change in water use from baseline (Water Use Score 1)
- Total monthly indoor water use (Water Use Score 2)
- Total monthly outdoor water use (Water Use Score 3)
Each characteristic above is assigned a relative Water Use Score. These scores are used in the algorithm to calculate the Water Use Score weighted average.
The equation is: ((Water Use Score 1 x 2) + Water Use Score 2 + Water Use Score 3)/4
The Water Use Scores used in the equation above are determined by these tables:
| % change in use | Water Use Score 1 | Indoor Usage (gal) | Water Use Score 2 | Outdoor Usage (gal) | Water Use Score 3 | ||
| <-100% | 9 | 1,000 | 9 | 0 | 9 | ||
| -90% | 9 | 2,000 | 9 | 1,000 | 9 | ||
| -80% | 9 | 3,000 | 8 | 2,000 | 9 | ||
| -70% | 8 | 4,000 | 8 | 3,000 | 8 | ||
| -60% | 7 | 5,000 | 7 | 4,000 | 8 | ||
| -50% | 6 | 6,000 | 7 | 5,000 | 8 | ||
| -40% | 5 | 7,000 | 6 | 6,000 | 7 | ||
| -30% | 4 | 8,000 | 6 | 7,000 | 7 | ||
| -20% | 3 | 9,000 | 5 | 8,000 | 6 | ||
| -10% | 2 | 10,000 | 5 | 9,000 | 6 | ||
| 0% | 0 | 11,000 | 4 | 10,000 | 5 | ||
| 10% | 0 | 12,000 | 4 | 11,000 | 5 | ||
| 20% | 0 | 13,000 | 3 | 12,000 | 4 | ||
| 30% | 0 | 14,000 | 3 | 13,000 | 4 | ||
| 40% | 0 | 15,000 | 2 | 14,000 | 3 | ||
| 50% | 0 | 16,000 | 2 | 15,000 | 3 | ||
| 60% | 0 | 17,000 | 1 | 16,000 | 2 | ||
| 70% | 0 | 18,000 | 1 | 17,000 | 2 | ||
| 80% | 0 | 19,000 | 1 | 18,000 | 1 | ||
| 90% | 0 | 20,000 | 1 | 19,000 | 1 | ||
| 100% | 0 | >20,000 | 1 | 20,000 | 1 | ||
| >100% | 0 | 25,000 | 1 | ||||
| 30,000 | 1 | ||||||
| 35,000 | 1 | ||||||
| 40,000 | 1 | ||||||
| >40,000 | 1 |
HOW IS MY suggested DONATION CALCULATED?
| Total Water Use Score | Water Icon Appearance | Recommended Donation |
| 9 | Full color bars and water drop | $10 |
| 8 | 7 bars and 80% of water drop | $9 |
| 7 | 6 bars and 70% of water drop | $8 |
| 6 | 5 bars and 60% of water drop | $7 |
| 5 | 4 bars and 50% of water drop | $6 |
| 4 | 3 bars and 40% of water drop | $5 |
| 3 | 2 bars and 30% of water drop | $4 |
| 2 | 1 bar and 20% of water drop | $3 |
| 1 | No bars and 10% of water drop | $2 |
| 0 | Outline only. No fill | $1 |
How is my Water Savings Target calculated?
Your goal depends on your Water Use Score. If score is 9 or 8, you are already an efficient water user and your goal is to achieve the same water usage as last year for same month. If your score is a 7 or 6, you still have room to improve and your goal is the lowest month’s minimum usage from last 12 months. If your score is a 5 or 4, your target is the minimum monthly water usage from the last 12 months, multiplied by 0.9 for a 10% reduction goal, and if your score is lower than 4, the minimum monthly water usage is multiplied by 0.8 to achieve a 20% reduction.
Where does the baseline value in the box score come from?
The baseline value is the water use volume from the same month or billing period before your C2E join date, which always stays the same. For example, if you joined in July of 2013, your baseline monthly values would be the 12 months leading up to that, so July 2012 to June 2013. If that value is not available (meaning you had less than one year of historic data) then the database calculates the average from as many months as data are available.
How do I apply for a rebate?
Each water provider offers different rebates for their community. Please check the rebates page in the Dashboard for more information on the rebates available in your community.
How do I know my water use in other measurment units besides gallons?
Check our unit conversions to calculate your water use in other units.
For Administrators
Can the Dashboard handle data on all customers or does it need just data of participating customers?
This Dashboard was built to handle all customer data. In fact, the Dashboard functions best when all customer data is uploaded because participants can see how their water use compares to the utility-wise residential average water use. The Dashboard is designed so that when a user registers, their data is automatically pulled from the database and available to view without delay. Uploading all customer data ensures that a new user’s data will be available at first login.
Our water meters collect hourly data, can this be uploaded and displayed in the Dashboard?
Unfortunately, no. To incorporate that level of data would require an API (automatic data gathering system) rather than a manual data upload and considerable additional programming work that our Dashboard is not currently set up for.
How often should we upload data?
We encourage you to upload data as frequently as your billing cycle. Most utilities have monthly billing cycles and encourage you to upload data on a monthly basis so that participants continue to receive timely information on their water use.
How do we know that our data is secure?
Participant information is secured with a unique username and password login for both customers and administrators. The Dashboard is housed on a secure University of Arizona server, with SSL database encryption per University of Arizona protocols.
How do I create a rebate for my utility?
You can add information about a rebate that is available to a utility’s customers by uploading a PDF document while logged in with your admin privileges. Simply click on Structure in the top black toolbar, select Add content in the grey toolbar and then click Rebate from the list below. From here you will be able to title the rebate, link it with your utility and enter text about the rebate. You can also add an image, a pdf file and a url. When you have added all the content, click Save and go to the Dashboard to see the rebate info displayed.
How do I link Paypal to my utility?
Click on Store in the top black toolbar, select Configuration from the resulting menu and then select Payment Methods from the Configuration menu. From the list of utilities in the Payment Methods window, click on enable (under Operations) for your utility. Confirm when asked if you are sure you want to enable. You will be taken back to the Payment Methods window and need to complete a couple more steps here before finishing. Under Operations for your utility, click edit. Under the Actions header, click edit. Enter the email address that is linked to your Paypal account and select Live. If your receiver email address is different from your Paypal email, enter that at the bottom of the page and select Show a message… to provide helpful information and reminders. Remember to click Save and your Paypal account is linked!
How do I set up a payment method for my new program?
A Payment Method is automatically created when a new program is added. You just have to configure your email address to associate with it. To access and manage the payment method for your program, click on Store in the top black toolbar, select Configuration from the resulting menu and then select Payment Methods.
How do I create a dummy account for box scores?
Log in with your administrator privileges. Click on Structure in the top black toolbar. Select Programs and click the edit option next to your program name. Enter the Baseline Values.
How do I enter the program water use average & the utility average for the bar graph that appears on the dashboard?
The value for the program average (turquoise bar) is calculated from the water use data that is uploaded in the CSV file. The utility average (green bar) must be entered where is says "Average use per household for this upload" on the Utility Data Upload page.
