Friends of Pusch Ridge Golf Newsletter
December 10, 2024
Happy Holidays!
The FOPRG Board and Advisors wish each of you a wonderful holiday!
During this busy season, we hope you enjoy family and friends, and remember to take them golfing at Pusch Ridge and enjoy the outdoors! It’s Fast, Fun, and Affordable!!
And remember, children 15 and under free with paying adult every day after 2 pm.
Book your tee times here https://www.elcongolf.com/book-a-tee-time
Q&A with Peter Abraham Series
Peter Abraham, P.E.
As part of FOPRG’s new mission to be water advocates, we have asked Peter Abraham, P.E., Water Utility Director with Oro Valley Water Utility, to help us inform our readers about the utility’s water conservation efforts in Oro Valley.
The following Q&A is the second of this new series.
FOPRG’s Question
“Last time Director Abraham, you helped dispel rumors that conservation (through lower water sales) causes water rates to rise. This time can you tell us why it is in the consumer’s/homeowner’s interest to conserve and provide two practical ways they can do so in and around their home?”
Peter’s Answer
“There are many reasons for our customers to conserve water resources. Some of the reasons being are as follows:
- Water conservation in the home reduces the monthly costs to operate the home.
- Conserving water resources reduces the magnitude of the utility’s future water rate increases. The effect of this is keeping the future operating costs of the home to the absolute minimum amount necessary to ensure that your Water Utility stays financially sound.
- Conserving water resources is the right thing to do. We must remember that we live in the desert. At any time, you can turn your faucet handle, and a safe and reliable water supply is available to you. You can fill a glass with water from the tap, drink it, and not get sick. This is literally nothing short of a modern miracle if you really think about it.
A couple practical ways that you can conserve are as follows:
- Keep outdoor irrigation systems timed properly. On average, outdoor irrigation accounts for approximately 60% of all water consumption for a single-family residence. Outdoor irrigation requirements are significantly reduced during the Fall, Winter, and Spring months. Remember to adjust the frequency and duration of outdoor irrigation as seasons change. Personally, I turn off my outdoor irrigation and only irrigate by manually operating my irrigation system if the plants seem like they need a sip of water. For further information visit our website at:
https://wateruseitwisely.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Landscape-Watering-Guide.pdf - Ensure that outdoor irrigation systems are maintained properly. Faulty timers, solenoid valves, emitters and other components can lead to excessive water use without the homeowner’s knowledge. Also, burrowing animals like squirrels can chew on buried irrigation piping. This can lead to a buried leak and easily double a home’s monthly water consumption.
- In addition to manually monitoring water use, consider signing up for the Utility’s WaterSmart program. This self-service program will assist homeowners in monitoring daily and hourly water use. For more information see our website at: https://orovalley.watersmart.com/index.php/welcome
For additional water conservation resources visit our Water Conservation page at:
https://www.orovalleyaz.gov/Government/Departments/Water-Utility/Water-Conservation
