Rosie on the House: Do you know how much water you use?

How much do we use?

• Filling the pool
• Watering the landscape and plants
• Washing the car
• Cleaning outdoor surfaces like the patio and driveway

How we measure water usage

There is an old business adage, “If you are not measuring it, you are not managing it.” Here are ways our use is monitored.

Municipal waterSuppose you get your water through a common distribution system such as a municipal water company. In that case, your home has a meter measuring the water you use typically over a month’s time. The unit of measurement used is gallons per billing period. Some areas are introducing or already have metering options.

Standard meters count the gallons per billing period that flow into your home and landscape. Most areas have their meter report usage sent electronically to a central billing system. Older methods required someone to look at the meter gauge’s numbers physically.

Monitor your usageCity billing. Many municipalities include extensive information on water use at each residence on their billing statements. Scottsdale, for instance, has a graph that compares year-to-year use on their monthly statement. In addition, they have hourly info for consumers on their online portal called SmartWater. Check with your city water department to learn the best way to access info on your property.

Apps installed on your smartphone or computer like EyeOnWater provide real-time information on your water usage.

Track water daily. Monitoring usage and comparing day-to-day consumption changes will help to save money and water.

Leak detection devices. Small devices like SimpleSENCE can be put on the ground by your water heater and under your sinks. They connect to an app on your phone and notify you when water is detected. Even if you are on vacation, you know if your house has a leak!

Landscape monitors. The HC Flow Meter made by Hunter is Aaron Merkows’ of Core Landscape and Sprinklers’ monitor of choice for your irrigation system. You can set parameters for water use with this system. Once the parameters are passed, alerts are sent to an app to let you know that there is an issue. Homeowners can monitor the app themselves, but some companies offer a service to monitor your system for you.

Well water. For those on a well, particularly in rural areas, monitoring water usage can be done by reading the gauge on the pump. Another way to track use is by monitoring your power consumption. Your pump is likely to run on electricity. By monitoring your power consumption, you can determine whether usage increases or decreases over time. This method is not as accurate as a meter but will give you some notion of your usage.

Monitoring your water usage provides the information we need to take our next step.

How can we conserve water usage?

Conservation efforts begin with knowing how we use water. Here are a few water-saving tips.

Washing our cars with the hose at home may save a few dollars, but you will definitely use a lot more water than a car wash. The water you use generally runs off down the street and likely evaporates before making it to a stream or seeping into the ground. According to carwash.com, your neighborhood car wash likely has a water reclamation system that recycles the water used to clean your car.

Cleaning off the patio or driveway with the hose may not be the best use of water. Using a broom or leaf blower saves water.

Check the water fixtures around the house for drips, leaks beneath the sink, a running toilet and a faulty hose bib. According to the EPA, a single leaky faucet can lose approximately 3,000 gallons annually. At 20 gallons per person per day, that’s about 25 days of water usage for one person that is wasted.

Leaky faucets are not the only leak source we need to consider.Hidden leaks are tough to find. This is where our water-measuring procedures come into play. You can ascertain any differences by comparing gallons used over a similar time frame, such as comparing usage from April 2024 to April 2025. If the numbers are significant enough, you can guess there is a leak somewhere.

Finding that leak takes keen powers of observation along with state-of-the-art technology like PinPoint Leak Detection and Repair, who is a Rosie Certified Partner.

Whether you suspect the leak is somewhere inside your house or in the yard, look at all your walls, ceilings, floors and crawl spaces for signs of water. Damp surfaces, mold, peeling paint and slab cracks are all signs of a leak.

Outside landscaping irrigation leaks or pool leaks start with observations. Survey your property looking for wet spots that shouldn’t be there, plants suffering from lack of water, and even brown patches on your lawn. The struggling plants may mean water is not getting to them because there is a break somewhere along the system.

Rosie says, “A leak was found in our yard that I was unaware of. I had a higher water bill than usual. Pinpoint came out and found a leak. That saved us over 700 gallons a month! That is a lot of water.”

Taking the time to use water wisely, and measuring that usage, goes a long way to helping conserve that precious resource.