As you can see from this chart, using just 21% more water than you are budgeted will cost you a whole lot more than another gardener who stays within their water budget. In fact, the excess water at the wasteful gardener’s house will cost eight times more than a normal user.

The system is brilliant. It is the fairest way to charge a fee for a natural resource like water. In this system, rates are not based on arbitrary information, such as last years water consumption, which can discourage long-term conservation and it’s not based on volume alone, which does not account for property size, number of residents and other factors.

Furthermore, what makes the Irvine Ranch Water District’s water budget so precise is that a users water allowance is adjusted weekly based upon fluctuating weather patterns. As weather changes, so too will a homes water use and IRWD’s system compensates for these fluctuations. More water in the hot summer, less in the cool, wet winter. Perfect.  

The Irvine Ranch Water District’s water budgets are especially generous. Within the formulas, it is assumed that the entire landscaped area of the home is cool-season turfgrass, the thirstiest plant in a garden. IRWD also assumed a 20 inefficiency for all outdoor irrigation systems.

Don’t worry, unless you are severely overwatering or taking two hour showers, you run little risk of being labeled wasteful and paying the highest water rate.

Now for the answers to my two questions. If you are a normal base rate residential water user anywhere in Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Newport Coast or Costa Mesa you are paying about one sixth of one penny for a gallon of water. Pretty cheap. Of course, to know how much water your particular home uses each day would require a look at your water bill. On the bill, water is measured in ccf’s or ccu’s. To get to gallons, just multiply the ccf or ccu total by 748, then divide by the number of days in the billing period and you’ll have your exact daily water use. On average, single family homes in Orange County use 171 gallons of water per person, per day.  

Questions from Readers June 13, 2009

Ron Vanderhoff is the Nursery Manager at Roger’s Gardens, Corona del Mar and his profile can be seen at www.theMulch.com/profile/Ron Vanderhoff.