Golden Valley Offers Residents Water Tracking Tool
With news of water restrictions and guidelines for conservation coming again this summer from city governments because of the on-going drought-level conditions, one city is reminding residents that they can track their water use in real time.
Golden Valley is offering water-use tracking through software called EyeOnWater.
Golden Valley has a program that allows water customers to track usage in real time.
“You can set up alerts so if you have a toilet that is stuck or your child went outside and turned on the faucet and forgot to turn it back off,” said Barb Ruud, Golden Valley utility billing specialist. “You don’t have an exorbitant bill that can throw you for a loop.”
All of the city’s more than 7,000 water customers are eligible to sign up for a free EyeOnWater account, Ruud said. Fewer than ten percent of those have, so far.
“The people that are using it are very grateful and they have made changes in their lifestyles,” said Ruud.
The city began using the service in 2021, but it is still difficult to measure just how much some customers may be saving. That’s because water use rates have fluctuated so much since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when just about everyone was home just about all of the time. She also noted that use is much higher in the summer when many people water their lawns and wash their cars.
