Bottom-line: Competition is a great motivator to help individuals and groups save water and become really effective water managers

Filed under: Aquacue ]]> http://blog.aquacue.com/2012/02/07/compete-alone-or-in-a-group-its-all-good/feed/ 0 Shahram http://blog.aquacue.com/2012/02/06/just-say-aquacue/ http://blog.aquacue.com/2012/02/06/just-say-aquacue/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:53:47 +0000 Elizabeth http://blog.aquacue.com/?p=918 ]]>

Here’s a video overview of the UC Merced Water Battle, held last fall. Aquacue’s technology provided real-time water data to on-campus student residents via the competition dashboard.

The student leaders developed a fantastic outreach program, achieving  a 14% water savings during the competition. We’re delighted to be showcased in this campus Impact video! Thanks, UC Merced!

Recently, David was in our neck of the woods on Wednesday speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. If you missed it you can get the gist of his talk by reading his thought provoking and important book: The End of Abundance: Economic Solutions to Water Scarcity, available in paper, pdf, and Kindle. It’s on our bookshelf at Aquacue. We’re also big fans of his blog, Aquanomics. Read it!

The Sierra Nevada snowpack is a key source of California’s water supply. Officials said Monday, January 30th, that snowpack water content was just 38 percent of average, compared to the 19 percent they measured in early January.

While December 2011 and most of January 2012 were dry, typically February through May still account for significant precipitation. In the past 2 years we have had rains past May and into June. So while precipitation-to-date is lagging, there are a number of historically wet months ahead of us. And though precipitation and inflow conditions are currently below normal, carryover storage within the SFPUC system is above typical due to the wet conditions of Water Year 2011, a cool summer and low demand.

So far it looks like a “below normal rainfall year.” However, one dry year, especially after 2 relatively wet years,“does not a drought make.” Here’s where you can get up-to-date information about water conditions.

But don’t take our word for it, experience it for yourself.

To access a real live Aquacue Wave account go here and type demo as the user name and demo as the password. Then have at it: zoom into the charts, double click the bars, toggle the overlays, and scroll around the map view.

Sign in frequently to track this user’s water consumption and you’ll see the vicissitudes of daily life, represented through water. We think it’s fascinating.

While it’s always fun to snoop at someone else’s water data, imagine how much more rewarding it would be to look at your own!

If you are a large commercial water user or facility manager and you need to get a handle on your water expenses try Aquacue’s Pilot Pack. You’ll get a single Barnacle with three-month access to Wave analytics software for a low, low price of $997.

It’s a simple to install, easy to use, low-risk trial, and we’ll bet money you’ll discover a leak. (It happens every time.)

Email info@aquacue.com to learn how to get your Aquacue Pilot Pack.

Wave 1.0 dashboard is browser compatible with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 9. Internet Explorer 8 users, please download Google Chrome Frame plugin for optimum results.

Reza’s specialty is designing ultra-miniaturized embedded computing devices and applications for medical, aerospace, and telemetric industries. Reza brings his broad expertise and brilliant inventiveness to assist Aquacue’s engineering efforts. We look forward to implementing his design contributions and making our products more simple, easy and innovative. Welcome, Reza!

The Pilot Pack comes with one Barnacle, a measuring and monitoring device that attaches to any meter in minutes and transmits water data to our servers in the cloud. Along with the Barnacle customers get 3-months access to Aquacue’s Wave analytics software that reports and displays real-time water data via any web browser.

So what’s unique about Aquacue’s approach to water management?

1. Real-time water data delivered in 15-minute increments so customers can investigate leaks, find inefficiencies and reduce water expenses.

2. The Barnacle works with any installed meter; there’s no pipe cutting, digging, or meter upgrade.

3. Water data is transmitted by the Barnacle via the existing cell network. It’s not only wireless, it’s wire-free. No external power supply needed.

4. Aquacue Wave’s simple, graphical dashboard is accessed securely over the Internet so there’s no software to install or manage. Real-time water data starts from the meter and ends up on any browser or smart phone.

If you’re a large commercial or institutional facility manager and you want to experience Aquacue’s simple, easy approach to water management contact us at info@aquacue.com. The Aquacue Pilot Pack is $997 for a 3-month trial run. Start learning about the water flowing through your pipes; there’s nothing to lose and water to save.

She’s a leader among state, regional and urban water/sustainability managers, and has published and presented on conservation measures and many best management practices. We look forward to a long and enriching collaboration with Marty. You can read her brief bio on Aquacue’s website but we wanted to be a little bit more effusive about her here. Welcome, Marty!