Everyone in Los Angeles uses water, but very few understand their consumption habits. With the resources and technology available today, it is possible to track this data and turn it into a clear, visual interface. This allows users to identify patterns in their behavior around water consumption and put them in a position to make informed decisions around how they can conserve water.
iDrop is an application that, using the same visual language, simultaneously serves as an education platform for students, and a usage/water bill visualization tool for existing DWP customers.
By addressing the problem of over consumption with awareness was not enough. We focused on the idea of education. That thinking naturally led us to students and schools. We wanted to accommodate a wide spectrum of water users, so we created a platform for teaching conscious behavior to future generations while helping current LADWP customers better understand their spending and water consumption habits. Students will have the opportunity to be introduced to iDrop in the classroom. There is a student log in option where individual students will be manually inputting their normal water usage for a week. As they input their usages, iDrop will generate a visual representation of the data to show the student how they are using water. At the end of the first week, students will be able to see where they could change their water usage behaviors, and how changing their actions could reduce their overall consumption. Through one more week of logging their usage while being more water conscious, students would be able to compare their current results to their past usage to see how much water they saved. As an incentive for students to accurately log their water use, school would also be competing for a prize to see which had the lowest water use after the second week. By opening this program up to schools, iDrop is creating a micro ecology that mimics the city of Los Angeles that is easy for students to understand. For current LADWP customers, there is an option to log in using their account number, and their past data will be integrated onto the app. This data will be visually represented in a similar manner as the student option, to better the customer’s understanding of their use. Customers will be able to track how much water they are using down to the specific hour to help identify patterns. Although we cannot track exactly how the water is being, by showing the time the user can identify the trends to make a change. Users will also be able to compare each months usage to their previous bills, as well as comparing their bills with their neighbor’s use. If users are interested in being more informed on how they can become more water conscious there are resources built in for them to branch out and become part of something more. The bill visualizer mirrors the educational tool in functionality so that as students transition into bill paying adults, it’s a system that they familiar with using. By creating a program like iDrop, immediate and distant goals are being met. Adults and students are tackling the issue today, but tomorrow’s generation of Angelenos is learning how to solve the problem 1, 5, even 10 decades down the road.
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