Reduce Outdoor Water Waste with

More and more homeowners today are interested in remodeling green. With the green building marketplace expected to be worth nearly $60 billion by 2010, understanding what it takes to be green results in a business advantage for remodelers and other building professionals. 

What your customers might not consider is that greening a home involves greening the yard as well as the interior. In fact, much of what is “green” in a home’s lawn and landscape could represent wasted water.

Consider this: the average family of four uses 400 gallons of water per day, and at least 30 percent of that is devoted to outdoor uses. In some areas of the country, however, this percentage is significantly greater. In homes with landscape irrigation systems, up to half of the water applied is lost to evaporation, runoff, or overwatering due to improper system design, installation, or maintenance. With at least 36 states anticipating water shortages in the next five years, this is a waste we can no longer afford.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense program identifies high-performance, water-efficient products and services. In the area of residential and commercial irrigation, WaterSense labels professional certification programs for irrigation system designers, installation/maintenance professionals, and auditors that focus on water efficiency. Professionals who complete a labeled certification program may become WaterSense partners, demonstrating their commitment to water efficiency. The WaterSense Web site includes a directory of these certified professionals, making it simple to locate a WaterSense irrigation partner in your area.

If you are working with customers who are planning to install a residential irrigation system, you can encourage them to hire a WaterSense irrigation partner for their project. The savings can sell themselves. If a homeowner with an irrigation system hires a WaterSense irrigation partner to perform regular maintenance, the household can reduce irrigation water by 15 percent, totaling about 9,000 gallons annually—equivalent to the amount of water that would flow nonstop from a garden hose for nearly a whole day! Of course, gallons saved also equate to dollars saved on water utility bills.  

In the future, WaterSense expects to label landscape irrigation control technologies such as weather-based irrigation controllers and soil moisture sensors. These products can help reduce excessive water waste in the landscape by reducing overwatering.

For more information about WaterSense, as well as a directory of WaterSense irrigation partners across the country, please visit www.epa.gov/watersense.

Stephanie Thornton is the Partner Outreach Coordinator for EPA’s WaterSense program.  [return to top]