photo credit: Zack Sheppard
A notice came in the mail this week from our water district for a proposed hearing to address the current water shortage brought on by the California drought. Rates for the baseline water usage will not change. However, a proposed penalty increase of 10 times the current fee is being suggested to curb water usage. My first thought was what? Then I thought about it and the fee should help prevent people from leaving sprinklers on over night. The district has proposed no current changes to the current baseline fee amount. But, what is going to be the new baseline gallon limit per household? This number will no doubt change due to the drought restrictions. The new drought penalty would raise the usage fee for 100 gallons from $0.352 to $3.52. That’s a 10 fold increase from $35.20 to $352.00.
What are some home conservation steps to take now to prepare for the new drought guidelines?
1. Install new low flow toilets. Prices range from $100-$400+ Our second and primary bathroom uses 6 gallons per flush compared to the new 1.4 gallon toilets. If we use the toilet 10 times a day for our family, we could save 1,380 gallons a week.
2. Hand wash dishes. I don’t know how many gallons of water our dish washer uses, but I would guess washing by hand is more efficient. Having a dishwasher is a luxury and we could go without if needed.
3. Install low flow shower heads. A low flow shower head would pay for itself rather quickly and probably also want me to take a shorter shower. Last time we stayed at a hotel, I wanted to call the front desk and complain about the noise and poor water quality from the shower. I then read the card in the bathroom that the hotel was under a drought and they asked guests to limit showers.
4. Water lawn in the morning. Our current watering schedule for the lawn is set to 6am and runs for 15 minutes, 3 times a week. In the summer months this sometimes is moved to 4 days a week.
5. Install artificial grass. Costco carried an artificial lawn that looked decent, but I’m still skeptical how a dog would use it. It looks beautiful in the picture, but I would need to see how functional it really is with pets. The total cost after installation at Costco was still a few thousand dollars. I think it’s cheaper to water our current lawn sparingly.
6. Let the lawn die and replace with ground cover. A cheap alternative would be to let the back lawn die and replace the dead lawn with a cheap ground cover. Many tree services are happy to provide free wood chips that make a wonderful ground cover.
7. Capture rain water from downspout. We could purchase rain barrels or install a reservoir in our backyard to capture the rain runoff. The rain barrels could then be used to water plants in the spring and summer.
8. Stop washing cars. I think it’s cheaper to wash a car at home versus the local gas station. The cheapest gas station charges $5.00 for a car wash and we can probably was a car for under a dollar. If we have water restrictions I would imagine that a car wash will start charging more and it might make sense to just drive with a dirty car.
9. Cover your pool. If you own a pool and have to fill it regularly throughout the summer, it might make sense to buy a solar cover to help with water evaporation. The cost of the cover could pay for itself quickly if your water district fines jump.
10. Fix leaks and change behavior. A leaky faucet will impact your water bill, but so will your water behavior. Do you leave a faucet running while brushing your teeth? Do you leave the hose running while filling your dogs water bowl? Do you wait to enter the shower until the water is hot? Just making small changes during a drought, can help prevent sticker shock on your next water bill.
Have you been through a water drought in your area? What measures did you need to take to decrease your water usage?
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Actually, washing dishes by hand used more water for us. We had our dishwasher break, and while other water usage stayed the same, our water bill went up $20. Once we replaced the dishwasher, the bill went back down.
I couldn’t stand to have the dirty dishes pile up, so I probably washed them at least two or three times a day. If you just wash them once, you might be okay. But watch out for bugs!
My wife and I have never been through a water drought, but she is of the “save the planet” type…so water conversation is important to her. Here in Michigan we have a lot of water, so it would be easy to be waste-ful, but she would never let that get by! I’m going to share some of your ideas with her, I’m never heard of a fake lawn, very cool!
I forget where I read/heard it, but I believe using the dishwasher actually uses less water… nevermind, just read Steph’s comment. Anyway, the rest are great ideas.
We have a rain barrel outside our house that we use for plant water. The only word of caution is keep an eye out for mosquitoes. If you’re constantly using the water from the barrel, you should be fine. But my wife and I were away for a week and came back to a nice swarm. Though after a quick drain, they went away.
I try and take showers at my work during the week to save on water (I run at lunch so I do have an excuse). My wife and I will be installing shut off valves (not sure what they are called) on our shower in the next few weeks which helps a lot. We use our fish tank water on our indoor plants as well as any water that we use to boil.
I would also suggest raising the height of your lawn to over 3″ to save on water and use landscape plants that are native to your area.
The most water-efficient way to do dishes is with a dishwasher. They’ll also save money on medical bills.
http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/dishwashers.htm
http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Dishwasher_Efficiency–T734.html
Here’s some tips on making it more efficient:
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/D/AE_dishwasher_efficiency_tips.html
I suppose you could also save on your own water bill by using disposable dishes or eating out, but that has other environmental/financial implications.
Actually I believe handwashing uses more water. Plus these days you can install a ‘grey’ water system where by the water that your dishwasher/washing machine gets filtered of all the chemicals, and you can re-use the water for your garden etc A plus for the environment and your wallet.
We pay a flat rate here in Michigan, about $10 a month, and do not have a meter. A pretty good deal, but can lead to wastefulness.
@ Brandon
I’d love to switch water rates with you. I currently pay $50 a month for water and it could be going up with this drought.
@ MacNessa and Cyllya
I’ll have to revisit my thoughts on the dishwasher vs. hand washing again. I thought I was being super efficient with my “old fashioned” way of washing dishes and drying by hand. Thank for your links and I’ll research further.