Ivins used an average of 60 million gallons of water a month over the past twelve months. Based on our population growth since 2005, we would be using over 70 million gallons a month now.
Conservation works. And we’re just getting started. We didn’t have any “tools” to use to help with conservation for most of those 18 years. We do now. The Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD) started offering rebates for grass removal a few months ago. They also provide rebates for installing smart irrigation controllers and switching to WaterSense-labeled toilets.
And Karry Rathje at WCWCD told me last week they will be adding a rebate for hot water on demand systems as soon as the funding/program details are in place. Check their website at www.wcwcd.org for more information.
Let’s Make It Personal
How many gallons of water did you use in the past year? The chart below shows how much water single-family homes in Ivins used in the twelve months through the end of January. Mostly.
There were 124 homes that used more than 330,000 gallons. But if I included them in the chart and continued to show results in 10,000-gallon increments, the charts would have been very wide because a few users consumed over one-million gallons each.
Why don’t you pull out your latest utility bill to see how you compare. Your bill shows a chart of your monthly usage. The numbers at the bottom of the chart just above the months row show what you used each month in thousands of gallons.
Now The Challenge
How much can you lower your water use in the next twelve months? It would be helpful to learn from each other what conservation strategies we each worked on and how useful they were.
This is going to be a difficult challenge for anyone who is already focused on conservation, but it will be interesting to see if there is any more room for additional water savings. Let me know if you want to join me in this water challenge.
Please share your comments on this topic and tell me about
other Ivins issues I have not addressed in recent posts.
Email me at Mike@MikeScott4Ivins.com.
Recent “Water” posts
- Field of StreamsIt was pointed out at last Thursday’s City Council meeting that dredging Gunlock Reservoir could increase its storage capacity by 3,000 acre-feet. That has been suggested a lot in recent months. Why not do that instead of creating the much smaller Dry Wash Reservoir? It sounded like a good idea. The Reservoir was designed to…
- Goldilocks And The ReservoirThere was a city council work meeting on March 21st to discuss potential problems a proposed Dry Wash reservoir could create. It wasn’t a public hearing, but more than 80 residents attended. Thank you! Your attendance made a difference. Even though it wasn’t a public hearing, the Mayor invited a number of residents to speak…
- What Flushes in Vegas Stays in VegasThe proposed Dry Wash Reservoir in Ivins would store wastewater in the winter to be used for outdoor irrigation somewhere in the county during the summer. To help residents and the City Council better understand and maybe even appreciate wastewater, the Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD) organized a tour of facilities in and around…
- The Latest In LandscapesJoin us for a Talkabout on Wednesday, March 20th at 7pm at Rocky Vista University to learn more about the City’s new relationship with Utah State Univerity’s Center for Water Efficient Landscaping and the resources being developed to support Ivins’ residents in reducing outdoor water use. This conversation with residents will be led by Dr.…
- Reservoir Reservations RemainThere was a large turnout at last night’s Talkabout at Rocky Vista University, with a lot of questions and answers about Dry Wash Reservoir. Most of the evening was devoted to answering questions from the audience, after a presentation from Zach Renstrom, General Manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District. Some misconceptions were cleared…