Spring is almost here and it’s a good time to revisit some things that will help keep water costs down in our community and help keep our new septic system working smoothly.
First, everyone needs to do their part to prevent leaks. If you have a leak and don’t fix it, we all pay for that wasted water, which is unfair to all residents.
Please check your toilets periodically, to watch for signs of leaks. Do a dye test. Put 3 or 4 drops of food coloring in the toilet tank, wait 25 minutes and check the toilet bowl. If the water is colored in the bowl, you have a leak.
For reference, a silent leak, “ghost flushing,” can lose approximately 1 to 4 gallons per hour, which equates to 24 to 96 gallons of water wasted per day, or over 700 gallons of water wasted in a single month.
A moderate leak, where a noticeable trickle of water is heard, can cause a loss of around 10 to 12 gallons per hour, or approximately 250 gallons of water wasted daily.
If the leak is severe–a flapper seal stuck open or a fill valve continuously running—the waste can be 150 to 300 gallons in a single hour, or a loss of over 4,000 gallons per day.
We ask that each person who uses irrigation have their system professionally checked before use. Make sure your system heads are aimed correctly and watering only your grass and not the road.
We also ask that you add a rain/moisture monitor, if your system does not already have one, in order to prevent watering during and after a rain, which has been a common occurrence and is wasteful.
Remember, when setting your watering schedule, please do not run systems during the heat of the day (because of water evaporation) and set your times to not over-water, which will prevent waste and fungus. Irrigating 15 to 20 minutes a day is all that is needed to keep a healthy lawn.
In the future, these will be requirements to run irrigation. Those who choose not to do these additional tasks and continue to waste water will be charged a supplemental water fee that will be set in excess of the dollar amount to have the system professionally opened and cleared. These are small requirements to offset the increased usage because of waste.
We do plan on annual leak detection for Blue Heron; however, we should all be prudent in our water useage and watch for trouble spots.