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Best Practices
Adopted Common Sense Measures
Monte Vista Water District's Board of Directors adopted Ordinance 33 establishing year-round water use efficiency best practices. District customers are required to practice the following common sense measures to use water as efficiently as possible:
- Set automatic irrigation timers to water between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. Exceptions: Hand-watering, drip irrigation, "smart" (e.g., weather-based) irrigation controllers.
- Adjust watering and fix broken heads to avoid excessive runoff from irrigation
- Turn off irrigation during rain
- Repair leaks within 7 days of discovery
- Use a hose with a shut-off nozzle to wash vehicles or use an automatic commercial car wash
- No hosing down of paved surfaces, except when required for health or safety purposes
- Restaurants serve water only upon request
- Hotels offer guests the option to not launder linen daily
Help Make a Difference
We're asking our customers to watch their daily water usage and find ways to cut back. If we apply simple, common sense water-saving measures to our daily lives, we'll build a resilient water supply this year and for years to come.
Remember: The water we save today may be the water we need tomorrow!
Monte Vista Water District is asking our customers, "WATER You Doing..." to use water more wisely? Here are some tips on how to use water more efficiently to protect this precious resource. Click here for a printable version.
Outdoor Landscaping
If You... | You'll Save... |
---|---|
While hand watering, focus on dry spots, pay attention to avoid runoff | 750 to 1,500 Gallons per Month |
Reduce irrigation cycles (PDF) by 1 to 3 minutes | 15 to 25 Gallons per Minute |
Irrigate your landscapes only in the early morning hours (PDF) (5 a.m.) | 20 to 25 Gallons per Day |
Adjust irrigation timer valve run times (PDF) seasonally | 250 Gallons per Cycle |
Adjust sprinklers to avoid unnecessary over spray | 500 Gallons per Month |
Fix leaky and broken sprinkler heads | 20 Gallons per Day |
Replace spray head nozzles with rotator nozzles | 1,200 Gallons per Year per Nozzle |
Use drips or bubblers to irrigate your flower and shrub beds | 20 to 25 Gallons per Day |
Use "smart" irrigation controller | 40 Gallons per Day |
Replace part of lawn with low water use plants | 1,000 to 1,800 Gallons per Month |
Put 2 to 4 inches of mulch around bushes, trees and shrubs | 20 to 30 Gallons per Day per 1,000 square feet |
Outdoor Cleaning
If You... | You'll Save... |
---|---|
Clean sidewalks and driveways with broom rather than hose | 8 to 18 Gallons per Minute |
Take car to car wash, or at least use a self-closing hose nozzle | 8 to 18 Gallons per Minute |
Use pool and spa covers | 30 Gallons per Day |
Repair leaks around hosebibs, spigots, pool and spa pumps | 15 to 20 Gallons per Day per Leak |
Clean pool filter manually rather than backwash | 250 to 1,000 Gallons per Cleaning |
Capturing air conditioning run off | 9 Gallons per Day |
Indoor Living
If You... | You'll Save... |
---|---|
Fix leaky faucets and toilets | 20 to 50 Gallons per Day per Fixture |
Install aerators on all faucets | 4.7 Gallons per Day per Faucet |
Run only full loads in your clothes and dish washers | 300 to 800 Gallons per Month |
Keep showers to less than 10 minutes | 700 Gallons per Month |
Turn off water when brushing teeth or shaving | 240 Gallons per Month |
Don't use toilet as trash can | 400 to 600 Gallons per Month |
Replace old toilet with more efficient toilet | 1.6 Gallons per Flush |
Replace old clothes washer with high efficiency clothes washer | 20 to 30 Gallons per Load |
Replace old shower head with one that uses 2.5 gallons per minute | 1000s of Gallons per Month |
When hand washing dishes, fill sink, don't leave water running | 2.5 Gallons per Minute |