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WATER
USAGE SURVEY RESULTS
By Art Markey
I want to
report that we had an absolutely great response from our homeowners to the
usage survey sent out this summer. 42% of homes (162 out of 385) responded
to the survey. This high response, coupled with a comparison of water use
between those who responded and those who did not indicates that the results
of this survey are statistically valid and can be appropriately applied to
the entire community.
The responses
are presented in the same order as the questions that were in the survey and
are grouped accordingly. I have used percentages or actual reporting
numbers, whichever I thought would be more relevant for particular types of
information. I hope you find the results interesting and I invite you to
make your own conclusions.
This article
gives a straight overview on what the survey shows are our current use
patterns but does not make any projections or conclusions about those
patterns. Over the next few months, the water district may make projections
of water savings based on theoretical changes in types of fixtures and
equipment in homes and modification of usage behavior. Those conclusions
will be included in future information releases by the district and perhaps
in another article in the winter issue of the Pine Brook Press.
The one area
where I will make an observation is our perceived vs. actual water use. In
the survey we indicated that 5000 gallons is appropriate during non-drought
periods and 3,300 gallons is appropriate during drought periods.
I made a
comparison of actual use for this July and August and found that July actual
average use was approximately 7,200 gallons and August was 6,100.
This means our
actual average use for August was about 122% of what we think appropriate
use should be and July was 144% of appropriate use. I then made a comparison
of use during last year’s drought and found actual use was 3,700 gallons vs.
3,300. Our actual was 112% of stated appropriate use. Basically we use more
water than we think we do. However, our actual water use per capita is
considerably less than the national average.
Now to the
actual survey results:
We average 2.2
adults and .5 children per home.
We average 2
low flow (1.6 gal.) toilets and 1.3 high flow (5 gal) toilets per home. 32%
of respondents use “tricks,” like a brick in the toilet tank, to reduce
consumption. We average 1.9 tubs, 1.9 low flow showers and .9 regular
showers and 60% of sinks do not have low flow or restrictors installed.
90% of clothes washers have adjustable water levels and we do an average of
12.4 loads of wash per month.
95% of
respondents have dishwashers, 49% of dishwashers have a water saver feature,
we do an average of 3.4 dishloads a week and 94% only do full loads.
26 homes have
instant hot water systems, 41 homes have a water softener system, 68 homes
have hot tubs, 34 homes have swamp coolers and 6 homes have a grey water
separation system.
75% of homes
do some outside watering, 68% have landscaping, 78% water manually, 72% have
pots on their decks, 32% have irrigation systems and they are used an
average of 2.7 times a week. 26 homes have a cistern or pond.
33% save pre
shower heat-up water, our average shower length is 5.7 minutes and we flush
an average of 7.1 times a day. 70% take fewer showers during drought.
64% have
postponed landscaping because of the drought, 86% regularly check for leaks
in the home and of those responding, none have reported mosquito problems.
I have a copy
of the survey results, with addresses removed, stored in Excel that I would
be happy to share with anyone interested. Just e-mail me at abmarkey@comcast.net.
Thanks again for your participation.
From Pine Brook Press, Autumn 2003
SUMMARY TABLE OF WATER USAGE SURVEY DATA
|
SURVEY QUESTIONS (TOTAL RESPONDENTS =
162) (Total
= raw addition, Average = average
per home, Percent = percent of
respondents) |
TOTAL |
AVERAGE |
PERCENT |
|
Current number of occupants: |
|
|
|
|
Adults
(Note: There were some respondents who used fractions, perhaps
indicating |
347.5 |
2.2 |
|
|
Children
residents between an adult and a child!) |
81.5 |
0.5 |
|
|
(The number of residences in PBH as of Aug 2003
was 391, and the total population 1093) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.1. How many gallons is a comfortable amount under “normal
circumstances” |
783500 |
5,000 |
|
|
How many gallons is a comfortable amount under “Drought
circumstances” |
504700 |
3,300 |
|
|
Number of gallons used in August 2003 per home |
|
6,200 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.2. How many low flow (1.6gal) toilets do you have? |
326 |
2.0 |
|
|
1.3. How many normal (5gal) flow toilets do you have? |
203 |
1.3 |
|
|
1.4. For normal flow toilets, do you use any water saving “tricks”, like
a brick in the tank? |
52 |
|
32% |
|
1.5. If unsure as to what kind of toilets you have, were any replaced
after 1992 ? |
36 |
|
22% |
|
1.6. How many bathtubs do you have? |
315 |
1.9 |
|
|
1.7. How many low flow shower heads do you have? |
301 |
1.9 |
|
|
1.8. How many normal flow shower heads do you have? |
138 |
0.9 |
|
|
1.9. How many sink faucets do you have with flow restrictors? |
213 |
1.4 |
|
|
1.10. How many sink faucets do you have without flow restrictors? |
504 |
3.3 |
|
|
1.11. How many low flow sink faucets do you have? |
110 |
0.8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2. Washing Machine: |
|
|
|
|
2.1. Do you have a conventional washing machine ( top load)? |
127 |
|
78% |
|
2.2. Do you have a front load water saver machine? |
27 |
|
17% |
|
2.3. Do you have a top load water saver machine? |
25 |
|
15% |
|
2.4. How many loads of wash, on average, in a month? |
1865.5 |
12.4 |
|
|
2.5. Can you adjust your water level, by load size? |
146 |
|
90% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3. Dishwasher: |
|
|
|
|
3.1. Do you have a dishwasher? |
157 |
|
97% |
|
3.2. If yes, do you use it regularly? |
133 |
|
82% |
|
3.3. how many times a week? |
506.04 |
3.4 |
|
|
3.4. Do you only wash full loads? |
148 |
|
91% |
|
3.5. Is it a water-saver model? |
77 |
|
48% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4. Other Gadgets: |
|
|
|
|
4.1. Do you have an instant-on hot water delivery system such as a
D’Mand system or point of use? |
26 |
|
16% |
|
4.2. Do you have a water softener? |
41 |
|
25% |
|
4.3. Do you have a hot tub? |
68 |
|
42% |
|
4.4. Do you have an evaporative cooler (swamp cooler)? |
34 |
|
21% |
|
4.5. Do you have a properly permitted grey water system? |
6 |
|
4% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
5. Landscaping: |
|
|
|
|
5.1. Do you water outside during the growing season? |
122 |
|
75% |
|
5.2. If yes, do you water manually (with a hose)? |
96 |
|
59% |
|
5.3. Do you have landscaping around the home? |
110 |
|
68% |
|
5.4. Do you maintain pots on a deck for flowers? |
117 |
|
72% |
|
5.5. Do you have an irrigation system? |
53 |
|
33% |
|
5.6 .If yes, is it a manually operated system? |
19 |
|
12% |
|
5.7. Is it on a timer system? |
43 |
|
27% |
|
5.8. Is it a drip system? |
42 |
|
28% |
|
5.9. How many times a week is it on? |
147.85 |
2.7 |
|
|
5.10. Do you have a cistern or open pond? |
26 |
|
0% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
6. Personal Habits/uses: |
|
|
|
|
6.1. Do you save initial bath/shower water while warming up? |
53 |
|
33% |
|
6.2. Do you run water while brushing your teeth? |
11 |
|
7% |
|
6.3. Do you turn off water while showering? |
45 |
|
28% |
|
6.4. How long is your average shower in minutes? |
867.75 |
5.7 |
|
|
6.5. How many times a day do you flush toilets? |
1022.5 |
7.1 |
|
|
6.6. Do you run the dishwasher less than full? |
5 |
|
3% |
|
6.7. Do you save sink or tub water for plants? |
61 |
|
38% |
|
6.8. During water restrictions, do you decrease your number of showers? |
112 |
|
69% |
|
6.9. Have you put off any landscaping because of water Issues? |
104 |
|
64% |
|
6.10. Do you check regularly for leaks in your fixtures? |
140 |
|
86% |
|
6.11. Do you run water to cool it for drinking out of the tap? |
21 |
|
13% |
|
6.12. Will you be making any remodeling changes to conserve water in the
near future? |
39 |
|
24% |
|
6.13. If you have an open cistern or pond, do you have a noticeable
mosquito problem? |
0 |
|
0% |
|
6.14. Do you teach your kids about water conservation? |
74 |
|
85% |
|
6.15. Do you remind houseguests about water conservation? |
124 |
|
82% |
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