Every drop counts: What homebuilders are doing to help water conservation

The saying "every drop counts" seems be more and more true in West Texas.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported the average American family of four uses 400 gallons of water per day. Mix that with Lubbock's limited rainfall and dropping aquifer, and the result is everyone has a responsibility to conserve household water, including those who are, well, building the households.

Larry Driskill, local homebuilder and president of the West Texas Home Builders Association, said the association is spending a good amount of time discussing and implementing water conservation tactics.

In fact, he said the developers council, a committee in the homebuilders association, set up a water conservation subcommittee comprised of people in all types of fields, including developers, builders, landscape design professionals and horticulture experts.

Chris Berry, chairman of the committee, said the main focus has been working with the city in improving water usage on commercial construction, but residential construction will shortly follow.

While explaining how homebuilders are attempting to build better water-efficient homes, Driskill broke down water usage into two easy to follow parts: inside and outside.

Their main focus right now is on outside water usage.

"They look at the whole spectrum of how to be water-smart with landscaping and water use," Driskill said.

Sandra Harris, executive assistant at Watermaster Irrigation Supply, said during the summer, 50 percent of household water goes toward landscape, which means that's where the biggest water savings can come from. There are many different devices homebuilders and consumers are installing to be more efficient with water, she said.

Some of these tools are drip irrigation systems, rain sensors and soil moisture sensors. Soil sensors are practical in Lubbock, as they let the user know when the soil is dry so watering is only done when needed.

Vikram Baliga, a county extension agent in horticulture who also works with developers and users for ways to limit outdoor water use, mentioned common practices, such as not watering in the afternoon and only watering when needed, but he also discussed plant selection.

"You want plants in your landscape that are able to tolerate long periods of drought, because we have long periods of drought around here," he said.

Another investment homebuilders and homebuyers can make is with rainwater harvesting, he said, which is using rain and recycled house water for landscape irrigation.

At this year's Parade of Homes, a house showcased by Fred Wilson Homes had an underground water storage unit to display how to recycle water. The home also showcased an underground drip irrigation system.

Other common devices are pressure regulators, which decrease wasted water and keep systems at the recommended pressure.

These tools should be installed during the homebuilding process.

"It's a lot easier to put in a water-efficient landscape than it is to pull out an existing water-wasting landscape and replace it," Driskill said. "So homebuilders are in a position to be in the forefront from that aspect."

Inside the home, Driskill said most of the water conservation is due to the new appliances. Low-flow faucets and shower heads, water-efficient washing machines and dishwashers, insulated hot water pipes and low water-using toilets are some of the appliances buyers can have inside their homes.

These are major and costly changes, but there are also small, commonly advertised changes that are beneficial.

Venki Uddameri, interim director at Texas Tech's Water Resource Center, said people tend to overlook the small ways to conserve water. Checking for leaky pipes and faucets or setting up ways to collect rainwater to use in gardens are small but effective measures anyone could take, he said.

The good news, he added, is water conservation is gaining more and more attention, which he attributed to the drought.

"Anytime you see a change it's good," he said. "Of course more can be done and that's always a hope, but we're definitely stepping in the right direction."

Baliga, who said water usage in June was the lowest Lubbock has seen since before the drought, agreed.

matt.dotray@lubbockonline.com

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