OUTDOOR WATERING RESTRICTIONS

In 2021 and into the future, the Board approved these mandatory watering practices.  Should drought conditions become sever, watering schedules may be implemented.

• Lawn irrigation between May 1 and October 31. 
• Lawn watering no more than three days per week. 
• Lawn must be between 6:00 pm and 9:00 am
• Tree, shrub and garden watering allowed any time, but encouraged between 6:00pm and 9:00 am      
• Do not waste water by allowing it to pool in gutters and streets.
• Do not waste water by letting it spray 3 feet beyond the designated irrigated area. 
•  Repair leaking sprinkler systems within 10 days (an irrigation system may be operated outside the watering schedule for installation, repair or reasonable maintenance, so long as the system is attended throughout the period of operation and water waste is minimized during the maintenance work)
• Do not water while it is raining or during high winds. 
• Allows for establishing new turf planted between May 1 and October 15 through a New Turf Variance (“NTV”) permit issued by the District for a period of not-to-exceed 30 days from District’s NTV approval.

REBATES FOR LOW FLOW FIXTURES

Water is a precious resource in Colorado.  The District provides rebates to customers that upgrade appliances and fixtures that include: 

• $100 for flushing a water-efficient toilet! Limit 3 per household. Your new ultra low volume toilet must replace an existing toilet that uses more than 3 gallons per flush.  
• $125 per new clothes washer that is  Energy Star approved.   Limit 1 per home.
• $20 back for low flow shower heads Limit 3 per household. 

To receive your rebate complete the Rebate Request Form with the appropriate documentation and submit the request to the District office.   Rebate may not exceed the price of the item purchased and you must include a copy of the item receipt in order to obtain this rebate.

WHAT IS BACKFLOW and WHAT ARE BACKFLOW PREVENTERS? 

Back flow devices, often called antisiphon valves, are required on all properties served by the District (including residential property) that use potable water for irrigation to prevent lawn or heavy rain water from backing up into the water system.    

For commercial properties, these devices must be tested annually by the owner as required by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Cross Connection Control Manual and by the District.  Back flow testing results should be sent via email with the report attached to Cottonwood Water at backflow@invernesswater.org  

HOW MUCH WATER DO PEOPLE USE INSIDE AND HOW?

While your individual usage by person varies, water use ranges from about 40 to 80 gallons per day (gpd).  The following amounts are estimates of specific personal water use activities:

• 20% Toilet
• 19% Clothes Washer
• 19% Shower
• 19% Faucets
• 14% Leaks
• 5% Baths
• 1% Dishwasher
• 3% Other   

HOW MUCH WATER DO PEOPLE USE OUTSIDE (in the yard) AND HOW?

• Sprinklers: The average sprinkler system for turf areas uses between 12 and 18 gallons per minute.  Drip lines are usually much less, but not always!  As you can see, this is a large variation.  The best way to find out how much water your sprinkler system uses, and this use can vary widely by sprinkler zone, is to find your water meter and time the water used for a minute or two for each station.   Then you can easily calculate your sprinkler system usage.  This is often good information to have when setting your automatic system timer and avoid any “water bill shock” at the end of the month.  

• Garden hose: The output can vary depending upon the size of the hose.  Some hoses are only ½” while others can be as large as ¾”.   The best way to see how much water your garden hose supplies is to time how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket, with the water fully on and no spray nozzles attached.  Then calculate the gallons per minute from that base amount.  Note that results will be skewed if you don’t have the water fully turned on or if you have some type of spray nozzle attached.  Also, the output from your garden hose will go down from the test above when you attach a nozzle or lawn sprinkler to it.   

SMALL WATER LEAKS IN MY HOUSE…ARE THEY A BIG DEAL? 

YES in several ways.  While a small drip may end up costing only a few dollars per month, the impact of leaked/wasted water when multiplied by all homes and businesses to our stressed water supplies in the semi-arid Colorado climate is significant.   Larger leaks and multiple dripping fixtures can really ad up by putting your usage into higher water and sewer use tier rates where dollar costs to you can become large.  Small leaks in pipe connections can sometimes result in water seepage between walls and into basins resulting in cosmetic/structural damage and mold growth.

Individual drips can add up:

• 30 Drops per Minute = 54 Gallons per Month
• 60 Drops per Minute = 113 Gallons per Month
• 120 Drops per Minute = 237 Gallons per Month

1/2" Drips can waste up to 1,014 Gallons per Month, while 1 1/2" drips can waste up to 2,202 Gallons per Month

HOW CAN I FIND WATER LEAKS IN MY HOUSE?

EyeOnWater is your best resource! You can install an app on your phone or view on your computer, your water usage by month, day and hour.  The app can even provide leak email notifications.      

Another way to check for leaks is to turn off all water using fixtures and appliances in your house.   Find your water meter in your basement or crawl space.  Look at the clock dial for about a minute.  If this dial moves forward during your observation, something in your house is probably leaking.  If you detect a leak, then shutoff your main sprinkler supply valve.  If the meter keeps showing use, the leak is probably inside the house, if it stops,  the leak is probably in your sprinkler box or its main supply line.

If a toilet is leaking, you may not detect by watching your meter.   That's because toilets usually leak water slowly due to an aged brittle plunger valve inside the tank, then they run for a short period to re-fill the tank.    If you hear your toilet running when its hadn't just been flushed, its leaking.  Toilets are often a source of leaks that can be significant.   An average of 20% of all toilets leak!    If you are gone a lot or don't hear the toilet running, another way to check for a leak is to turn off the water supply valve at the base of the toilet.  Look in the tank and mark the water level with a pencil.   Keep the valve off and don’t use the toilet for 6-8 hours.  Then after the shut-off period, look inside the tank – if the water level has dropped, then there is a leak.   Caution: if the toilet water supply value is heavily corroded, seized and/or won’t turn easily, don’t use this method.  Forcing the valve may result in the valve to leak around its housing – a leak you may be unable to stop without turning off the entire house water supply!  A toilet supply valve in bad shape should be replaced so that it can be turned off without problems in the event of a future tank crack or other toilet malfunction where water could leak onto the floor.  Toilet supply line valves are notorious for falling into this condition after many years.    If you are nervous about turning off an old or seized toilet supply line valve, there is yet another way to see if your toilet is leaking by putting a non-staining dye into the tank when it is full.  Do not use the toilet for 8-10 hours or overnight and see if any dye colored water has made its way into the toilet bowl.   If the bowl water is colored, then you have a toilet plunger leak.  Non-staining dye tablet are usually available at hardware stores.  Food coloring can also work.     

CAN I FIX A LEAKING TOILET MYSELF?

Yes in most cases.  Replacement plungers generally cost between $5 and $15 and are available at all hardware stores.  Remove the toilet tank lid, follow the instructions on the package.  Most plungers simply require you disconnect the flushing mechanism chain, snap out the old plunger, snap in the new plunger and reconnect the flusher chain.   Replacing tank plungers every few years is a good routine maintenance recommendation.  Some newer low-water use toilets have different flushing systems that can be more complex to fix.      

HOW MUCH WATER CAN AN EFFICIENT or LOW WATER USE TOILET SAVE?

Toilets can account for almost 30% of all indoor water use, more than any other fixture or appliance.  Older toilets (installed prior to 1994) use 3.5 to 7 gallons of water per flush and as much as 20 gallons per person per day.  Replacing an old toilet with a new model can save the typical household 7,900 to 21,700 gallons of water per year, cutting both your water and wastewater bills.

WATER EMERGENCIES IN MY HOUSE

If a leak occurs in your house or sprinkler system, contact a plumber.  If you have a leak and cannot turn off the main house value, call our emergency number (see Contact Us link) for assistance turning off water to your house at  the street.

WATER OUTAGES AND LEAKS IN THE STREET

The District is usually is notified of outages by our monitoring systems, but you can also call us and leave a message.  As we often get a large number of messages reporting an outage, your call will not normally be returned.  If you see a leak in the street or median, please do contact us with details but again, while your message is appreciated, we may not return your call due to a high volume of similar calls.