As water meters trickle in, long-resistant Sacramentans learn to go with the flow

WATER PRESSURES

How to use less
Reducing the amount of water you use is a two-part challenge, according to Lisa Maddaus, water efficiency manager with the Regional Water Authority.
"There are two parts to being water- efficient. There's hardware – leaks are a huge issue – and then there's the behavioral," she says. "How long are you taking in the shower? Are you letting the water run while you're brushing your teeth?"
Here are some suggestions on how to change equipment and habits to save water.
• Look for WaterSense labels, sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, when you're buying anything that uses water.

• Flush with info: Toilets are typically the biggest water users inside homes.
A conventional toilet (manufactured before 1992) uses 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. A water-efficient toilet uses 1.6 gallons or less.
For better flushing action (and to avoid double flushing), get a toilet with a fully glazed trapway at least 2 1/4 inches in diameter with a flushing capacity of at least 500 grams. Prices start around $200. Rebates of $50 to $125 are generally available.
If you have an old toilet, you can use a displacement device, such as a closed gallon milk jug filled with water or stones and placed in the toilet tank, to reduce the water it takes to flush.

• Scrub-a-dub: Conventional washing machines use 32 to 59 gallons of water per load. New high-efficiency models can do the same work with 15 gallons of water. The cost of an efficient machine starts around $700. Rebates may be available.

• Shower power: A conventional shower uses 3 to 8 gallons of water a minute. A low-flow showerhead uses 2.5 gallons per minute. Newer ones don't feel wimpy like some of the earlier models. You can find them for less than $10.

• Lawn time coming: You can get a simple gizmo for $20 or less that will stop the sprinklers from running when it's raining.
Or you can go high-tech and get a weather-based controller – some even use satellite info – that takes into account wind, sun and other conditions to deliver just the right amount of water. A neighborhood in Folsom that was outfitted with these devices saw water-use reductions of 20 percent to 30 percent. These devices cost $300 to $500. Rebates may cover as much as 75 percent of the cost.

• Leak patrol: If your toilet is running, it may well have a leak. One way to test is to put food coloring (be generous) in the tank. Wait 20 to 30 minutes. If there is any coloring in the bowl, you have a leak. You can typically fix the problem with a new flapper, which should cost no more than $5.
If you have a dripping faucet that produces 60 drops a minute, you may be pouring 192 gallons down the drain in a month. Most faucets have a basic washer you can change easily and should cost less than $1.
Don't forget to check sprinklers for leaks, clogs and other water-wasting problems.

• Develop water-saving habits: Run dishwashers and washing machines only when they're full.
Don't let the water run while you're brushing your teeth.
Use a broom, not a hose, to clean off walkways.
Don't water when it's windy, and water the lawn between midnight and 10 a.m.
Don't let the water run outside while you're washing the car.
Sacramentans are typically guilty of overwatering their landscapes. Figure out how much you need, and don't overdo it.
Use pool and spa covers to save energy and reduce evaporation.
Sources: Sacramento County Water Agency; Regional Water Authority; Elk Grove Water District's Tips for Water Conservation; Don Smith, water management coordinator, city of Folsom Utilities Department; Brothers The Plumbing Store, Sacramento

The impact of meters
Residents of Fresno do not yet have meters, but the city is starting to install them this year. Clovis, right next door, has had meters since 1913.
The meter effect can be seen in the differing rates of water consumption between the two communities.
Fresno's consumption averages 282 gallons per person per day, according to Lon Martin, assistant director of public utilities for Fresno. In Clovis, per-person use averages 262 gallons per day, according to Lisa Koehn, assistant public utilities director for Clovis.
Fresno, which is in the process of getting meters, expects to see the usual pattern in such cases – a big initial reduction, then a leveling-off.
"We're hoping for a 20 percent reduction in water usage – we expect to receive it initially – and to fall back to between 10 and 15 percent," Martin says.
When Davis started charging residents for water using meters in the '90s, consumption dropped considerably, according to Jacques DeBra, utilities manager for the city. Currently, Davis' water consumption runs about 175 gallons per day per person throughout the year.
In the unmetered city of Sacramento, consumption runs considerably higher – about 270 gallons per person per day, according to Ryan Geach, a city utility service inspector.

Straightforward billing
Sacramento water bills will be comparatively simple and cheap.
There is currently no plan to impose tiered fees based on consumption levels. To reward conservation, many communities charge one rate up to a certain level and a higher rate for water use above that level.
In Los Angeles, for instance, there are multiple factors and tiers for water billing, determined in part by lot size, household size and geographic location. (If you live in a larger house, have a larger yard and live in a hotter inland area, you will be allocated more water before jumping to a higher rate, compared with a small house on a small lot in a cooler coastal area.) In addition, there are different billing rates by season, with lower rates during the cooler months.
The complex metering in Los Angeles (where water use has been metered since early in the 20th century) has played a part in a remarkable feat of conservation.
"In the last 25 years, the consumption of water has remained the same in Los Angeles, but we have 1 million more people; we've done it all through water-conservation efforts," says Kim Hughes, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The department, the largest municipal utility in the nation, serves about 4 million people.
People in Los Angeles get a reminder of how precious water is with every bill. There, residents pay an average of $2.61 for every 748 gallons of water they use.
In contrast, Sacramento city's metered water rate of just 76.7 cents for each 748 gallons will be just a drop in the bucket.

The flow for Sacramento city users
$25.97: The current flat rate for each month for an average single-family home of six to nine rooms.
$33: The amount you would pay for a month on current metered city rates for a family of three in an average home if each person used 270 gallons a day (the current consumption level). For a typical home, the rate will be $7.77 a month plus 76.7 cents for each 748 gallons (or 100 cubic feet) used.

Water: Tapping into the basics
Metered water is generally measured and billed in units of 100 cubic feet (often referred to by the acronym HCF), equal to 748 gallons.
The Regional Water Authority, based in Citrus Heights, is a joint-powers agency formed in 2001 to promote collaboration on water issues in the greater Sacramento area. It's a useful one-stop shop for finding contact information, rebate details and general information about more than 20 local water agencies from Placer County to Rio Linda to West Sacramento.
The RWA conservation hotline: (888) 987-8477. Web site: www.rwah2o.org
City of Sacramento's Water Conservation line: (916) 808-5454.
For more information:
www.h2ouse.org: A Web site of the California Urban Water Conservation Council has detailed tips on reducing water use at home.
www.cuwcc.org: Another Web site of the CUWCC has detailed product information.
www.epa.gov/watersense: The Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense Web site.

Why meters matter
Chris Brown, executive director of the California Urban Water Conservation Council, says taking less water out of local rivers will improve the health of the waterways and the fish that rely on them. That includes salmon, whose scarcity during last fall's run sounded an alarm among environmentalists.
"All of those salmon that we had so few of require a healthy river system," Brown says.
For those who worry about carbon footprints, water leaves large, muddy ones.
"Water conservation equals energy conservation," says Dave Todd, a land and water use program manager for the state Department of Water Resources. He said roughly one-fifth of the state's electricity use is dedicated to water services.

Be water-smart and you may win a prize
Get a home water survey, and you might get a new front yard.
The Regional Water Authority is sponsoring its second front-yard makeover contest. To be eligible for the grand prize – a water-wise front-yard design and installation, and a year of maintenance – you have to sign up for (and complete) a Water Wise House Call before July 14. The winner will be selected in a drawing. There are runner-up prizes that don't require the house call.
For information and entry forms, go to www.rwah2o.org and click on the "Be Water Smart" section or call (888) 987-8477.

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