Interview by Sumbul Mashhadi 

Dr. Emilio Mateo works on the Pacific Institute’s Catalyzing Water Efficiency Investments through Debt Financing Accelerator in partnership with WaterNow. The project team is working with the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) in Northern California and the Pueblo West Metropolitan District (PWMD) in Southern Colorado on alternative ways to fund water efficiency at a larger scale.  

Sumbul: You started out studying glaciers and mountain hydrology in Colorado and Peru and now you work on how utilities can increase investments in water efficiency incentives. What connects those two things for you, and what pulled you toward the financing side of water? 

Emilio: My background is rooted in the natural hydrology space, specifically glacier hydrology. In Peru, I focused on meltwater streams below different forms of glaciers, the water quality of that meltwater, and ultimately on the downstream impacts in communities below. My work in Colorado was a bit broader, from soil moisture in mountainous terrain to snow sublimation, to how climate data is used in various sectors and is factored in the decision-making process. 

All river systems have downstream impacts on people, but with my interests having been in natural hydrology, I wasn’t as focused on those impacts in my prior work.

Now, I have the opportunity to explore those impacts further downstream through connecting my past hydrology work with the water users. 

Sumbul: When a community needs more water, most people assume the answer is building something. Why is using less water so much harder to pay for than building more? 

Emilio: For utilities, using less water can be more difficult to pay for than building new infrastructure because efficiency measures are typically paid for out of operating budgets, while other forms of supply are paid for out of capital budgets. With operating budgets being significantly smaller than capital budgets it makes it much more difficult to cover efficiency related measures that make a meaningful difference.  

In general, efficiency savings are more cost effective than the savings that result from paying for new supply.

For any project, a smaller investment will yield less savings, so if utilities invested more in efficiency projects, their return in water savings would be much greater.  

Sumbul: This project is working with BAWSCA, which supplies communities across the Bay Area, and PWMD in Southern Colorado. What are those communities actually trying to achieve, and what is the practical work of getting a utility from wanting to do this to actually doing it? 

Emilio: BAWSCA’s work includes developing policies that let it and its members use bonds or loans to fund efficiency incentives alongside other water infrastructure investments, and PWMD’s work helps the district explore the option of using bonds and loans for efficiency at a larger scale. Both BAWSCA and PWMD want to increase their investments in efficiency and are exploring opportunities to increase that investment. 

For both partners, we are evaluating the water savings potential and costs associated with outdoor irrigation projects.

With this information, we can then compare these programs with the cost of new supply to see how they stack up. Finally, recognizing that realizing the savings will require much greater investment, we are exploring ways to pay for this investment. 

In California, WaterNow and Pacific Institute, in partnership with BAWSCA, will identify potential water savings from larger-scale outdoor efficiency rebates for strategies such as smart irrigation controllers, turf change-outs, and rain barrels. In Colorado, our work with PWMD aims to identify funding options for their Desert Hawk Golf Course Irrigation Water Efficiency and Loss Reduction Project, which is designed to save over 60 million gallons per year, and by exploring opportunities for additional water savings at the golf course with non-functional turf identification and replacement. 

Sumbul: If utilities can overcome funding barriers and invest in efficiency at a larger scale, what does it look like on the ground for a household or neighborhood? 

Emilio: Once a utility has overcome funding barriers, the difference can show up in a household or neighborhood. For example, replacing a grass lawn with climate-appropriate landscaping can reduce water and energy costs, but residents or businesses may wait years to recoup their initial investment.

Debt financing could allow the utility to offer larger financial incentives that reduce this upfront cost burden.

In some cases, the utility may also be able to cover the entire cost of the landscape transformation through a direct-install program, eliminating upfront costs and making efficiency improvements more accessible to residents and businesses. 

Efficiency projects can also deliver benefits beyond water savings. Replacing turfgrass with trees and climate-appropriate plants can lower household water and energy bills, reduce the energy required for irrigation, cool homes and neighborhoods, and help absorb stormwater. At a larger scale, these improvements can support community resilience by reducing heat and easing pressure on local water, energy, and stormwater systems. 

Bonus question: Does this work follow you home at all? Spending your time on water supply and efficiency, does it change how you think about water in your own life? 

Emilio: I definitely think this project follows me home. As a golfer myself, I have a good understanding of how much water is used to keep courses green. Seeing this course, and a lot of the water issues they are dealing with, it makes me think about the water situation at other courses that I play – about which ones are using recycled water or raw water, and which ones are using potable water.

So I approach golf courses a bit differently now; I look at sprinkler heads and other water features, whereas most people would walk right by them – unless their ball ended up in a pond! 

Also, in Denver, we were under a water restriction of two days a week all summer, and while I do not have a yard to water myself, I think about outdoor irrigation a lot more when I am out running. Seeing over-watered yards that are lush and green in a summer that has been very hot makes me wonder how we can get the rest of the community to stop and think about their water use a little more.