We don't have the rain barrels side by side like in this photo anymore. We moved the other rain barrel to the back of the house to catch the rain from the back gutters. We've been trying to conserve water as much as possible. When we received our first water / sewer bill from the city, we were shocked to find out that for 6 months we were paying over $600! We were shocked to see that we were using over 300 gallons of water a day? Could this be right? How could this be? We factored in that a lot of it must be the fact that we were watering the garden with the hose. This is because it hasn't rained much. Wow, waste of water! So we thought of ways we could conserve water and save money. In addition to purchasing the rain barrels, we invested in a new shower head. We bought an eco-friendly WaterPik shower head that has a slower trickle of water. The water comes out at a lower pressure. It took a while to get used to but it helped to know that this was going to conserve water and save us money, and help the environment. Water is precious, and shouldn't be wasted!
We recently got our new quarterly water bill, and we are happy to report that with the rain barrels and the new shower head, we managed to cut our water consumption in half! We now use only 165 gallons of water a day. Woo hoo! Conserving rocks! And even better, our water bill was cut in half! Instead of $300 for 3 months, the bill was $160! Going green is saving green!
That still sounds like an aweful lot of water per day.
ReplyDeleteI would have them come check my meter. Also, a way to check is to turn all water off and see if the meter is still turning round.
What a good feeling that must give you knowing you're saving water and $'s. Good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog! There are chances for rain all week here...I just pray we get some. Till then it's sprinkle, sprinkle!
ReplyDeleteWow, you reminded me of a very horrible time last year when we got a I think over 2,000 water bill. Apparently there was a leak under the house that the plumber had estimated was leaking a gallon a minute. It had been broken for like 2 months or so and the utilities company never thought it was important to call us and warn us. The story gets complicated, but that's not why I'm here...
ReplyDeleteWhat a savings!! you asked about my rain barrel situation... I just depend on my 2 watering cans and gravity. It's very slow, and I used to be really annoyed until I found a sort of rhythm about it. I'll fill one, and while it's filling, I'll weed a nearby bed. Then I go and empty that can while the next one fills. If I finishe before the next one fills, I'll just weed a little bit there until I hear the sound of the can overflowing. I water the nearby beds first while the water runs faster. It's a nice little routine and works in some weeding as well. My veggie garden is typically pretty weed-free. Then again, I have a fairly small veggie garden - the equivalent of about 6 40 square foot beds.