Approximately 50% of the water used in a typical home is used outdoors, mostly for irrigation.  Studies in the Tampa Bay area have shown that 30% of the water used for lawn irrigation is wasted due to poor irrigation system design and management.  As our population increase begins to outstrip dependable, sustainable supplies of fresh water, Florida’s over pumped wells facilitate the intrusion of salt water polluting wells especially along the coast.  Alternative water generating sources such as the reverse osmosis water treatment plant in Tampa that convert seawater  to fresh water are costly, about three times that of traditional sources pumped from the aquifer.  Reducing water wasted by landscape irrigation can significantly reduce our daily consumption rate (129 gallons/day/person) and thereby conserve our precious resource over time. Residents seem generally unaware of the impact their landscape water consumption has on municipal drinking water supply, and generally have little knowledge of water efficient landscape alternatives.  For new residents expectations of lush, tropical landscapes with thick, dark green lawns come with the environmental costs of large amounts of irrigation water, fertilizer and pesticides required to sustain exotic plants and thirsty grass.  Most new homes are landscaped with sod  and equipped with automatic irrigation systems to support these thirsty plantings.  New residents are usually unfamiliar with their new landscapes and irrigation systems, their care or water requirements.  A typical, inefficient, poorly managed lawn irrigation system could waste over 15,000 gallons of water monthly adding an additional $67 to the monthly water bill.  Education on water conservation is paramount in this process.

This case study was submitted to the Alliance for Innovation for consideration at the 2010 Transforming Local Government conference.