Friday, November 30, 2012

Save money: Lower Water Bill

A Lower Water Bill for November! 


Since we moved into the new house in South Orange County, one of the new bills that we have to pay is the water bill. Now, we're not used to paying seperately for the water, trash, and gas bills at our Condo because it is lumped in with the HOA fees per month. Our current tenants at the Condo are not paying the HOA fees. It is still our responsibility.

Due to having to pay seperately for this new house's utility bills, I have been tracking each utility payment for the last couple of months that we have been here. The first month's water bill was around $78. I asked the previous tenants if this is normal and it is. Eventhough, currently there are only three people living here (me, my boyfriend, and a roommate). This seemed abit high for me.

So, I went ahead and readjusted the irrigation schedule from 3 days a week to 2 days a week and from the 10 minute intervals to 3 minute intervals. I also adjusted the time to 5:30 am in order to prevent water loss through evaporation. It took 1 minute of my time pressing the buttons. This is common sense to most people but I never realized how much of an impact it would make on the water bill in one month!

I'm excited to say that the new lower water bill for November is $30.29! From $78 to $30 by just eliminating excessive irrigation! Plus, it is good for the environment to prevent unnecessary urban runoff! Too often, I see so many lawns here in Orange County that have sprinklers that are spraying the sidewalks or are left on too long or at on during the hottest time of the day.

Now, if I can only convince the HOA property management for our condo to fix the sprinkler's spray direction and length, our HOA fees might be lowered even!  I see alot of water waste at the Condo complex every night where streams and streams of water running down the gutter for 15 minutes. I figure it won't hurt to write a letter especially if it will save the association money.

In the meantime, I'm excited that my water bill is lower by more than half the "normal" rate!

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for all the great advice. I think I may or have a leak or something that I need plumbers in Mississauga to come look at that is probably contributing to the bill, but this is really good to know. Thanks for sharing!

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