Conserving water is an important consideration for communities and homeowners alike. Here are four simple steps you can take to reduce your water usage and save some money on your bills.

Get an insulating blanket for your water heater and wrap your hot water pipes with foam pipe insulation, which will reduce heat loss and retain hot water longer. This way, you won’t have to run water as long to heat up your shower. Also, if you wrap your cold water pipes, you can prevent them from freezing and bursting in the winter.
Consider converting to a tankless water heater that can help you save up to 50 percent on your water bill. It works by using high powered burners that instantly heat the water only when you turn the handle for hot.

While we have taken a number of steps to reduce our water consumption, the cost of water remains an ongoing expense.

We continue to partner with LaBahn’s landscaping to improve our landscaping appearance and to reduce the amount of water that we use.  Service began on 7/17/2014.

An extensive assessment of our irrigation system was performed, and as a result the following changes and improvements were made:

  • The timing and duration of the watering cycles were drastically reduced.
  • 200 cubic yards of mulch was delivered and distributed.
  • We capped 384 sprinkler heads and installed 484 drip emitters
  • We removed overgrown Kangaroo paw plants, and non-native shrubs and replaced them with drought tolerant species such as Portulaca, Bougainvillea, False red yucca, Phormiums and Birds of paradise.
  • We replaced timers, valves, filters and pressure regulators throughout our property.
  • We looked at each of the 21 zones and determined the type of soil, the amount of sunlight, the slope of the ground, the type of plant, the root depth of each plant and establish a water budget for each zone.
  • Our web enabled controllers (Hermit Crab)monitor rain, wind, temperature and humidity.  If rain is foretasted, watering is suspended.  After a rain, an algorithm calculates if any additional water is required to bring us up to our budgeted amount.  20% reduction in water used over the past 4 years.

 

HermitCrab2

The HermitCrab2 is a powerful internet-based smart irrigation system that automatically manages and adjusts landscape watering schedules by zone/station. The system utilizes information on plant types, soil, micro-climate, rain forecast and other environmental data. Single-platform simplicity allows management of multiple brands of controllers at multiple sites through the web-based system.

  • We installed sensors that can detect leaks and auto shut down water until repairs can be made.
  • We are able to start, stop and monitor online or by smart phone.  Our landscape company monitors and maintains entire system.
  • We removed all of our turf and took advantage of $1,500 in incentives offered by the State of California.to install gravel and succulents.
  • We removed overgrown Kangaroo paw plants, and non-native shrubs and replaced them with drought tolerant species such as Portulaca, Bougainvillea, False red yucca, Phormiums and Birds of paradise.
  • Additional advantages!
  • We have reduced our comingled waste stream by having our green waste taken offsite and processed into nutrient rich mulch.  It is then brought back and placed on our plants.  This new process allowed us to cut our pickup fees in half.
  • This fundamental change provided us with an opportunity to install a dedicated waste bin for paper, cardboard and plastic recyclables as required by the City of San Diego.
  •  We eliminated the water run off that was deteriorating our parking lot surface, overflowing onto the sidewalks and streets into the city’s storm drains and into our oceans and bays.
  • We now have a recycling program at OMC to complement the ongoing program that the Knights of Columbus have in place for collecting containers with a CA deposit value and donating the proceeds to local charities.

Please contact John Ohle for any additional information: johle@omcsandiego.org or call (619) 905-3526.