Saving Water, Saving Money by Robert Colen

"How did I use so much water?" That is the one question heard over and over again when community water conservation audits are performed. On Top of the World Communities (OTOW) offers a water conservation audit for all residents. For a small fee, an analysis of where and how much water is being used in the household is determined.

The answer to "How did I use so much water?" is almost always the same...the irrigation system. Trained water conservation specialists frequently find irrigation systems for the yard set to run at intervals the homeowner never realized. "We've seen irrigation timers set to run two times per day, every day of the week. That translates to a tremendous amount of water spraying out onto the yard." explains an auditor.

So let's do a quick calculation. If an irrigation system is running two times per day, every day, that comes to a little more than 60 times per month. Using an average of 2,700 gallons per cycle or 5,400 gallons per day, that comes out to a whopping 165,000 gallons per month. That is a lot of water and a lot of money wasted!

There are many reasons why a timer is set to run so many times per week. One may be the homeowner accidentally set it that way or their landscaper reset the timer. Regardless of the reasons, inspecting the irrigation timer should be something every homeowner should do regularly, especially if their water usage is unusually high. If the homeowner is not sure how to set the timer or wants a refresher course on how to operate it, Master the Possibilities Education Center located at OTOW routinely schedules classes to help.

Water conservation is vital for decreasing water pollution, increasing energy savings, and creating more efficient use of our water resources....and is easier on the wallet too!

Robert Colen is the Warranty Supervisor at On Top of the World Communities.