Water conservation is a way of life for residents of Southern California.  The City, in partnership with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Municipal Water District of Orange County, Orange County Water District and California Urban Water Conservation Council participates in a number of popular conservation programs including, residential water use audits,sprinkler controller rebates and large landscape irrigation audits to name a few.

These efforts have been very effective in Huntington Beach.  The City is one of the leaders in Orange County in plumbing retrofits.  While the City has grown considerably in population over the last ten years, water use has remained at 1995 levels.

An undetected, malfunctioning toilet can be a silent water bandit and is usually the cause of most high water bill complaints.   The table below illustrates the effectiveness of modern water use efficiency practices.

That’s potential savings of 88.4 gallons per day or 32,266 gallons a year.   If you think that sounds impressive, consider that over 50% of most single-family water use goes to irrigation.  By choosing drought resistant plants, properly installing and maintaining irrigation systems and only watering as much as your landscape needs the potential savings can more than double.

For more conservation tips, to receive conservation literature, or to learn more about conservation programs, call the Utilities Division at (714) 536-5921 or visit www.h2ouse.org or Bewaterwise.com.