Legislature’s Environmental Committee to Hear Talk by Columbia Students on Community Experience Non-Emergency Water Conservation Programs

Thursday, 06 December 2012 00:00

Written by Administrator

New City, NY (December 6, 2012) – Students from Columbia University
will present the results of a research project that could assist in the
development of a non-emergency water conservation program for Rockland
County. The presentation will take place at the December 12, 2012
Meeting of the Legislature’s Environmental Committee at 6:00 p.m. The
study was requested by Rockland County Legislator Alden H. Wolfe,
Chairman of the Legislature’s Environmental Committee as a follow-on
to a Spring 2012 study commissioned by Dr. Daniel Miller, Director of
the County’s Bureau of Water Supply, that looked at potential water
savings, costs and benefits of seven different possible water
conservation programs.

The semester’s research was done by Columbia seniors enrolled in the
Fall 2012 semester of the University’s Sustainable Development
Workshop with the guidance of Adjunct Associate Research Scientist
Stuart Braman of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY. The
students created case studies on non-emergency outdoor water
conservation ordinances adopted in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester
Counties in New York, Sharon, Massachusetts, Cary and Chapel Hill, No.
Carolina, Orange Co., California and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The
presentation will include case study highlights and conclusions from the
group of communities studied. Specific attention will be paid to lessons
that may be applied in Rockland County.

In addition, the students conducted a sensitivity analysis of the
Spring 2012 results in order to assess the stability and volatility of
water savings and cost effectiveness estimates, and an overview of the
sensitivity analysis will be presented, as well.

“I’m looking forward to hearing about the possible opportunities to
create the water conservation policy contemplated by our Comprehensive
Plan,” said Legislator Wolfe. “It’s been a pleasure working with
these highly motivated and intelligent students on such an important
project. “

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