Water Usage at Condo Complexes

About a million and one articles...YOu can't change human behavior by an article. What I would encourage instead is a break down of water expense the HOA has each month and areas it can save. Such as installing timers to certain areas like a pool or landscaping areas. If it's maintenance issues, then encouraging owners to replace leaky faucets. That may be by making a deal with a local plumbing company that as long as a majority of owners use them in the condo, they could get a group discount.

You don't really know the root cause of your condo's water consumption and really just making an assumption that it is owner's bad plumbing. Maybe it happened to you? Seriously, water consumption can be caused by a variety of reasons. I would suggest if there is shared plumbing in the walls of all the units, to have a professional come in and check for leaks. The issue could be more than any one owner.

Don't assume it's because owner's are just lazy and uneducated. Water conservation is a personal thing and no one wants to be told how long they can take a shower in their own home.

How many units are we talking about? If you can't cover the cost in your monthly dues (at least until you raise the fee's to cover the increased cost) then I would question your reserve funds. It is somewhat of a side issue but if you can't cover the increased cost as noted above from reserves (until you raise the dues) then your reserve funds may be too low. Raise your dues to not only cover water but also add to your reserve. Sounds like your on thin ice....nothing can turn a community against a Board faster then a series of special assessments....

PS: If you have a pool have than looked at first....common source of water leaks...

Check and see if your Department of Water and Power has special programs regarding water conservation. You could promote a community gathering, particularly if you are a larger HOA, for World Water Day which is in March.

If you condo has children, getting children involved can also have surprising results. You can have contests for kids or households.

So you might also consult with local, national and international organizations that are involved with water conservation and World Water Day.

My HOA just implemented a strategy to make everyone in the neighborhood accountable for their own water. We just got submeters installed, it was very affordable and my water bill has gone down dramatically. Before everyone was paying the same amount for water and I didn't realize that I didn't even use that much water. I am a single woman and my neighbors are a family of four, I am sure they were using more water than I was and we were paying the same amount. The way that the condos are is there are a lot of people paying for other peoples water. Im happy they made the decision to do the submeter thing. Im renting my condo out next year and now I will be able to make my tenant pay for their own water, because Im able to see how much they are using. For all of the HOAs that owe for their water bill ,or the water bill is just astronomical it is a great idea. If people don't pay their water bill you can just cut their water off instead of the way that it was working before. One of my neighbors had not paid their hoa dues in 5 years, and he still had water, and we all were paying for it. If anyone is interested in conserving their water, and lowering their associations water bill contact me and I can forward you some info on the company we used. [email protected]