Why is the TWDBs per-person water use figure (gallons per capita daily or GPCD) different from the one that my local utility has published?
It is not unusual for GPCD (Gallons Per Capita Daily) figures to vary due to differing methods of calculation. In the calculation of a city or utility’s water use (and ultimately, the GPCD) for regional water planning, the TWDB: • does include the water use of residential, commercial and institutional users, as well as process-related water loss and any system water loss, • does not include water sales to large manufacturing, mining or steam-electric power plants, • does not include a city’s water sales to retail customers who live outside of the city limits, • does include the water use of commercial and institutional entities, and residential customers, who are within the city limits but are supplied water from another source, including a private groundwater well, another water utility or a surface water right. Because each water utility plans to the total water demand expected by all of its customers, a water utility, when calculating its per-capita use (GPCD) may include all of its
