S.J. woman's water-saving techniques could help you save money

While most of us save for a rainy day, it's the dry kind that Rhondda Nunes worries about.

During the gutter-swelling rainstorms of January and February, she carefully positioned a 30-gallon garbage bin to catch water pouring off the roof of her central Stockton home.

Now, with barely a cloud in the sky in weeks, her cache of rainwater is still nourishing her wild and verdant gardens.

What's more, pots and pans all over the piano instructor's home collect water from dripping faucets, as well as rinse water from the kitchen sink that can safely be used on some plants.

"My friends think I'm nuts," Nunes said.

Her shrinking water bill suggests she is not.

She may, in fact, be an example for the rest of us. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently urged water conservation as part of his plan to stretch the state's tight water supplies; the governor's goal of a 20 percent reduction in per capita water use by 2020 is at the very least ambitious, some water providers say.

"I kind of had to take a deep breath and say, 'Wow,' " said Bob Granberg, deputy director of Stockton's Municipal Utilities Department. "That's pretty aggressive. I suppose it could be done. We're going to have to get pretty creative."

The state is just beginning to think of ways to achieve Schwarzenegger's goal. Mark Cowin, deputy director of the state Department of Water Resources, said last week that a detailed plan is expected later this year.

He said officials believe the reduction can be accomplished largely through voluntary strategies. For example, many cities already offer rebates to encourage replacement of water-guzzling appliances with new, higher-efficiency models.

"I wouldn't rule out legislation that would require additional mandates or more regulation," Cowin said. "But we're going to work with local agencies to implement plans that are on the books right now."

Reports show that the average Stockton home uses about 22 percent less water during the summertime today than it did in 1987.

Much of that decline reflects advances in low-flush toilets and landscape irrigation in the 1990s, Granberg said. The region's large number of newer homes has also improved conservation since newer homes tend to be more efficient.

Conservation will only get tougher from here, Granberg said. The city's new water plan calls for a 3.4 percent increase in water conservation over the next five years, less than the gains made in the past 20 years.

One of the problems, experts say, is that water is so cheap that there is little financial incentive to conserve. Nunes, for example, pays $1.40 per 100 cubic feet of water. That's about 750 gallons of water, enough for about 75 showers of five minutes.

At that rate, each shower costs less than 2 cents.

The Pacific Institute, a nonprofit think tank that supports increased water conservation methods, has suggested changing water rates to discourage waste.

"The potential for increasing efficiency is enormous," said Peter Gleick, who heads the Oakland-based institute. "Why should we spend billions to try to find new, expensive sources of supply to fill a leaky bucket? Shouldn't we try to plug the leaks first? That's what efficiency improvements do."

Many cities already have detailed conservation programs and laws on the books to back them up. In Lodi, for example, it's illegal to wash down a sidewalk or driveway.

A bucket must be used when washing a car. Hoses are only for rinsing, and no longer than three minutes at a time.

In Manteca, officials have focused on replacing old toilets that swallow five gallons or more in a single flush. Toilets account for most indoor water use. Finding new ways to conserve gets harder as time goes by, said city associate engineer Keith Conarroe.

Not for Nunes. She has an elaborate system: Water is collected in the first bin - which is covered during dry weather to keep mosquitoes out - and then is transferred to four other bins at the side of the house, where it's stored for future use. Neighbors see her lugging pots of water back and forth, from the storage bins to her fish tank, from her kitchen sink to her backyard blooms.

"You get some biceps out of it," she said. "You're also saving money - that's the most practical concern."


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