Anyone that has ever owned a home with a swimming pool during a particularly warm Summer knows full well the value of having a backyard aquatic oasis. But, if not careful, owners of swimming pools may also rack up some hefty water bills if not careful.
Every swimming pool situation has its own unique twists, but the California Urban Water Conservation Council put together a list of water saving strategies that pretty much every pool owner should keep in mind:
- Use some sort of pool cover to slow down the evaporation rate — especially in the evenings when the air temperature can drop far below the water’s temperature — and potentially drop your water loss due to evaporation by as much as 30 percent.
- Fix and and ALL leaks in the pool as well as in its accompanying filter system. Small drops lost here and there can add up to large losses over time.
- OK, so no one really likes jumping into a frigid swimming pool (except those weird polar bear club members…), but keeping the water temperature from rising too high helps to reduce the evaporation rate since cooler water evaporates at a slower rate.
- Swimming pool fountains look beautiful and for those with waterfall features, well, those are even MORE beautiful (in our humble opinion)… but with the added beauty comes increased evaporation since aeration causes increased evaporation.
- No one we know has ever REALLY wanted to clean their swimming pool filters by hand, yes we know, but did you know that the average swimming pool backwash cycle can use hundreds of gallons and possibly a whole lot more depending on the size of the pool? Manually cleaning pool filter elements uses far less water.
Though located out in California and intending for their advice to reach local residents, the San Diego County Water Authority offers a number of resources that we feel could apply to residents from other areas, as well, on the following web site: www.WaterSmartSD.org.
