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Savings, savings everywhere


Matt Mcclain © News		 Green Team members Heidi Parish, left, and Heather Carroll watch Laura Dravenstott water the compost pile at her Centennial home. More than half of residential water is used for landscapes.

May 5, 2007
From the Rocky Mountain News
By Laura Frank

This week, the Green Team is focused on using less water.

Almost immediately, the talk turns to toilets.

"Do you have a flushing policy?" Beth Zykan asks, by which she means: Do you flush after every use?

The Green Team is settling into its mission of saving natural resources while they save money. And in the Mountain West, water use concerns everyone.

The workbook these seven Green Teamers have points out that toilets are the largest water-user in the house. The group collectively agrees that it would be much more pleasant to save water by installing a low-flow toilet or retrofitting the old one than by waiting for multiple uses before flushing.

What about showers? The kids take it hard on this topic.

"My 7-year-old gets in the shower and sings the entire score to High School Musical," Zykan says. "We say, 'Turn it off.' And we hear: 'I'm almost done. La, la, la. . .'"

But the real work of the day is in landscape watering, where more than half of residential water goes. Today, the team is going to learn about a high-tech sprinkler system that uses weather data and foliage type to determine how much water a yard needs in any given week.

The lesson is hardest on Heather Carroll and Megan Mistler-Jackson, who are walking across Paula Smith's lawn when the sprinklers come on.

Wet but not deterred, they learn from neighbor and watering-technology enthusiast Jodi Johnson that a new kind of sprinkler-control system could save them a third of their water bill.

This gets their attention.

With a few quick turns of a screwdriver and some programming knobs, Johnson has installed a high-tech irrigation control system that uses satellite weather data and information about Smith's particular yard to set how much water to use and how fast to apply it. Johnson, who works for the WeatherTRAK company, which sells the systems, sets each watering zone differently for grass, plants or trees, shade or sun, hilly or flat.

"No more runoff" Johnson announces. "The water you use will actually be soaking down to your plants' roots, not running down the street."

With available rebates and water savings, the unit can pay for itself in about a year, Johnson adds.

Carroll and Mistler-Jackson are still wet, but now they're inspired, too. With the water they save on their lawns, they can keep flushing their toilets.

The series
  • This is the third in a six-part weekly series following a group of suburban Denver moms who joined a Green Team. The Green Team Project is a national nonprofit organization that helps people find ways to save money and resources.

    April 21: introduction
    April 28: energy
    This week: water

    Coming up:
    May 12: chemicals
    May 19: transportation
    May 26: waste

Join the team
  • Don't know where to start in saving the planet? Visit Greenprint Denver to get more tips or join a team of your own.
Water demand for California food
  • Much of our food comes from California, which grows more than any other state. It takes water from the Colorado River to irrigate much of Southern California. Here are the gallons of water it takes to grow an edible pound of food in California:

    • Tomatoes: 23
    Wheat: 25
    Apples:49
    Milk: 130
    Eggs: 544
    Chicken: 815
    Pork: 1,630
    Beef: 5,214

    For perspective, it would take about the same amount of water to produce 1 pound of beef as it would to take 5-minute showers five days a week for one year.

    Source: The Green Team Project
Did you know...
  • Ninety percent of the water consumed in Colorado is used for agricultural purposes.

  • More than half of all residential water used in Colorado - 54 percent - is used on landscaping.
Keep it clean
  • Everything that goes down the storm sewer eventually ends up in someone's water supply.
Denver's Department of Public Works offers these tips:
  • Pick up litter and after your critter. Plastic bags, bottles, cigarette butts and other litter can hurt wildlife. Pet waste contains harmful bacteria that can risk public health.

  • Beware of spills that kill. When you wash your car or degrease auto parts, letting those fluids run into the storm drains is as bad as dumping them directly into our waterways.

  • Be wise when you fertilize. Fertilizers and pesticides can wash off lawns into waterways. Use them sparingly, or use safer methods, such as organic mulch.
Green steps
  • The average U.S. family of four could save more than $200 a year in water, sewer and energy costs by installing low-flow water fixtures, switching to water-efficient appliances and changing habits, the EPA says.
  • Fix all leaks. Turn off all water users in your house, including your hot water heater, then check your water meter. Check again in an hour. If it has moved, you have a leak. If you can't find the leak after checking all toilets, faucets and pipes (don't forget outdoor faucets), it may be in an underground pipe, which will require help from your water utility.

  • Don't let the water run. Put a nozzle on outdoor hoses. Turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth. Fill the sink with water when you're washing dishes or cleaning vegetables.

  • Save with the appliances you have: Use your dishwasher instead of hand washing; run your clothes washer on shorter cycles.
Check the toilet
  • A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water a day. Check to see if yours leaks: Add a dye tablet, available at hardware stores, or a few drops of food coloring to the tank on top of the toilet. Do not flush it. Return in 30 minutes. If there's dye in the bowl, the toilet is leaking. Make sure you flush right away so the coloring doesn't stain your toilet. If your leaky toilet is old, consider replacing it with a low-flush toilet, which costs about $80. Turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth.
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