How to Save Money on Your Water Bill

Now that warm weather is upon us many of us start turning on the irrigation system to get our lawn the greenest on the block. This is a good time to examine our irrigation requirements so that we don’t waste water or get shocked by a high water bill.

I can not tell you how many times it has happened. I get a call from a Mount Pleasant Waterworks’ customer who is in disbelief about the amount of water they have used in a month. We talk about their normal usage and their habits then the conversation inevitably moves on to irrigation. Many people have their irrigation systems set to run by the landscaper who installed it and have not taken the time to review just how much water is being used. In other cases the system is set on a timer to run early in the morning and when there is a leak they do not notice because no one is outside to see it. Just one broken sprinkler head can leak up to 20,000 gallons a month or more.

Don’t Water More Than Necessary

Most lawns need only 1 to 1.5 inches of water every seven days. Customers often forget that the total should also include rainfall. Many lawns receive more water than necessary. Watering the lawn should be a well planned process that makes for a healthy long lasting turf. The key to the health of the turf is a strong deep root system. Short frequent watering facilitates a short weak root system whereas long deep watering fosters a deep strong root system. The goal here is to provide a satisfactory amount with as little waste as possible. Water that does not reach the roots is like watching money run down the street.

Water Usage Guide

Do the Math

If you use an irrigation system and:

Your system has 5 zones (the average)

Each zone dispenses 15 gallons per minute

Each zone runs for 20 minutes

(15 gallons per minute per zone x 20 minutes = 300 gallons

300 gallons per zone x 5 zones = 1500 gallons per watering)

And you:

Water the yard 10 times a month or every 3^rd day in-season

(1500 gallons per watering x 10 times a month = 15,000 gallons)

Then you will use 15,000 gallons of water per month.

Which is about 3” of water on ¼ acre lot and considering we average between 3 to 4 inches of rain per month this should be sufficient.

More Water and money-Saving Tips

Ground covers, trees and shrubs do well with drip irrigation- there is little waste and the plant receives the amount it needs to the root zone.

Adding garden mulch around trees and in flower beds will help retain moisture and cut down on watering needs.

For more information please visit the Clemson Extension, Home and Garden Information Center page on “Conserving Water in Your Landscape”: http://hgic.clemson.edu.

(Clay Duffie is General Manager of Mount Pleasant Waterworks and has more than 30 years of experience in water and wastewater management practice. He is a past President of the South Carolina Water Pollution Control Association and the SC Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and has led numerous national seminars on environmental leadership and utility management issues.)