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Wise Water Use Residential Survey Program
Is Our Community Conserving?
 
The Importance of Water Conservation
 

Drought! It isn't predictable. That's a science whose time has not yet come. About the best scientists can do is look at what's happened in the past and calculate the odds of future rainfall.

Wise water use, however, must be a way of life in Southern California --- not just during times of drought. As population figures climb, future water supplies are by no means dependable.

The average Southern California home uses 384 gallons of water daily, indoors and out. The average apartment or condominium uses 256 gallons daily. An individual uses between 100 140 gallons of water each day.

We can't predict the weather. But we can do many things to stretch the supplies we have. So drought or not, please don't waste water. Follow the tips below and save hundreds of gallons each month. Remember we're living in a semiarid desert.
Ten ways that will save the most
 
1.

Water your lawn only when it needs it. Step on your grass. If it springs back when you lift your foot, it doesn't need water. So set your sprinklers for more days in between watering. Saves 750 to 1,500 gallons a month. Better yet, especially in times of drought, water with a hose.
2. Fix leaky faucets and plumbing joints. Saves 20 gallons a day for every leak stopped.
3. Don't run the hose while washing your car. Use a bucket of water and a quick hose rinse at the end. Saves 150 gallons each time. For a two-car family that's up to 1,200 gallons a month.
4. Install water-saving shower heads or flow restrictors. Saves 500 to 800 gallons a month.
5. Run only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher. Saves 300 to 800 gallons a month.
6. Shorten your showers. Even a one or two-minute reduction can save up to 700 gallons a month.
7. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks. Saves 150 gallons or more each time. At once a week, that's more than 600 gallons a month.
8. Don't use your toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket. Saves 400 to 600 gallons a month.
9. Capture tap water. While you wait for hot water to come down the pipes, catch the flow in a watering can to use later on house plants or your garden. Saves 200 to 300 gallons a month.
10. Don't water the sidewalks, driveway or gutter. Adjust your sprinklers so that water lands on your lawn or garden where it belongs --- and only there. Saves 500 gallons a month.
  DON'T LET YOUR WATER USE GET THE BEST OF YOU.
Make every gallon saved count…26 more ways
 
IN THE BATHROOM…
1.

Put a plastic bottle or a plastic bag weighted with pebbles and filled with water in your toilet tank. Displacing water in this manner allows you to use less water with each flush. Saves 5 to 10 gallons a day. That's up to 300 gallons a month, even more for large families. Better yet, for even greater savings, replace your water-guzzling five-to-seven-gallon-a-flush toilet with a three-and-a-half-gallon, low-flush or one-and-a-half-gallon, ultra-low-flush model.
2. Take baths instead of showers. A partially filled tub uses less water than all but the shortest showers. Saves 15 to 20 gallons each time.
3. If you're taking a shower, don't waste cold water while waiting for hot water to reach the shower head. Catch the water in a container to use on your outside plants or to flush your toilet. Saves 200 to 300 gallons a month.
4. Check toilet for leaks. Put dye tablets or food coloring into the tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, there's a leak that should be repaired. Saves 400 gallons a month.
5. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Saves three gallons each day.
6. Turn off the water while shaving. Fill the bottom of the sink with a few inches of water to rinse your razor. Saves three gallons each day.
7. If you wash dishes by hand --- and during a drought that's the best way --- don't leave the water running for rinsing. If you have two sinks, fill one with rinse water. If you only have one sink, use a spray device or short blast instead of letting the water run. Saves 200 to 500 gallons a month.
8. When washing dishes by hand, use the least amount of detergent possible. This minimizes rinse water needed. Saves 50 to 150 gallons a month.
9. Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator. This beats the wasteful habit of running tap water to cool it for drinking. Saves 200 to 300 gallons a month.
10. Don't defrost frozen foods with running water. Either plan ahead by placing frozen items in the refrigerator overnight or defrost them in the microwave. Saves 50 to 150 gallons a month.
11. Don't let the faucet run while you clean vegetables. Rinse them in a filled sink or pan. Saves 150 to 150 gallons a month.
12. Use the garbage disposal less and the garbage can more. Saves 50 to 150 gallons a month.
Indoor savings based on a family of two adults and one child.
AND OUTSIDE…
13. Put a layer of mulch around trees and plants. Chunks of bark, peat moss or gravel slows down evaporation. Saves 750 to 1,500 gallons a month.
14. If you have a pool, use a pool cover to cut down on evaporation. It will also keep your pool cleaner and reduce the need to add chemicals. Saves 1,000 gallons a month.
WHEN IT'S WILLING, LET NATURE DO THE JOB!
15. Water during the cool parts of the day. Early morning is better than dusk since it helps prevent the growth of fungus. Saves 300 gallons a month.
16. Don't water the lawn on windy days. There's too much evaporation. Can waste up to 300 gallons each time.
17. Cut down watering on cool and overcast days and don't water in the rain. Adjust or deactivate automatic sprinklers. Can save up to 300 gallons each time.
18. Set lawn mower blades one notch higher. Longer grass means less evaporation. Saves 500 to 1,500 gallons each month.
19. Have an evaporator air conditioner? Direct the water drain line to a flower bed, tree base or lawn.
20. If municipal ordinances don't prohibit it, drive your car onto a lawn to wash it. Rinse water can help water the grass.
21. Tell your children not to play with the garden hose. Saves 10 gallons a minute.
22. If you allow your children to play in the sprinklers, make sure it's only when you're watering the yard --- if it's not too cool at the time of day.
23. When taking your car to a car wash --- and during a drought that's a particularly good idea --- be sure it's one of the many that recycles its wash water.
24. If you're working around the yard, clean up with waterless hand cleaner rather than washing under a steady stream of water. Saves seven to 10 gallons each time.
25. If you don't want water, turn the empty water glass upside down in a restaurant. Not only will you save the water you don't drink, you'll also save the water used to wash the glass. Collectively saves millions of gallons a year.
26. And, finally, replace high-water-using trees and plants with less thirsty ones. But do this only in non-drought years. Even drought-resistant plantings take extra water to get them going. That'll save 750 to 1,500 gallons a month.
WATER USED FOR COMMON ACTIVITIES
 

Brushing teeth
3 gallons a day
Cooking
5 gallons a day

Shower
40 gallons every 10 minutes

Dishwasher
15 gallons per load
Bath
20 gallons
Hosing driveway
150 gallons
Toilet
28 gallons a day per person
Washing car
150 gallons
Clothes Washer
45 gallons per load
Wise Water Use Residential Survey Program
 
Take Advantage of This Complimentary Water Conservation Assistance

Did you know…

  • You can save 500-800 gallons of water per month by limiting your shower to ten minutes and using a low flow showerhead.
  • You can cut the amount of water you use to flush the toilet by installing a toilet dam.
  • You can save up to 9,000 gallons of water per year by fixing a leaky faucet.
  • You can save 300-800 gallons of water per month by only doing full loads of laundry.
  • Your shrubs need a different watering schedule than your lawn.
  • Your watering schedule needs to be adjusted seasonally.
  • Over-watering is the most common cause of lawn and plant disease.

During the complimentary water survey the surveyor will…

  • Check your meter to detect leaks
  • Check your irrigation system for needed maintenance
  • Suggest seasonal adjustments for your individual watering schedule and prepare an individual water budget for your home.
  • Check your soil to be sure your watering schedule matches your soil's ability to absorb water.
  • Discuss proper lawn maintenance measures such as aeration, dethatching, and proper mowing height.
  • Offer tips on low-water use landscaping, where appropriate.
  • Will review all indoor water using appliances.
  • Check for indoor leaks.
  • Give a complete educational packet.
  • Provide faucet aerators, low-flow showerheads, toilet dams, and flappers if needed.

To participate in the program, an adult member of the household who is able to operate the irrigation system must be present to assist the surveyor. It is recommended that your landscape professional (where appropriate) also be present.

Appointments are limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Simply call (949) 631-1205.

About our program…

The Wise Water Use Residential Survey Program, offered at no cost, will help you learn how to conserve water and may save you money by reviewing your landscape, irrigation, and Indoor plumbing systems.

This special water conservation program is being offered to a targeted group of households whose consumption indicates potential water saving opportunities.

The most important step toward saving water is understanding where your water is currently being used.

An experienced conservation surveyor will help you examine the particular needs of your household. By reviewing your landscape and irrigation systems, this complimentary service can help you and your landscape professional to identify possible ways to conserve water.
IS OUR COMMUNITY CONSERVING?
 
As our population continues to grow, so does the need for conserving water. Mesa customers used over 1.1 million gallons less water in 2006 than in 2001. That’s enough water to supply a fire truck for 40 hours at 500 gallons per minute. Although we are making a good effort at conserving water, we can still do a lot more. Check out this page for more ways you can reduce the amount of water you use.

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