Colorado Springs Residential Water Use Calculator

Please, fill out the green cells only - Cells that turn red indicate areas where improvement is possible

Interior Consumption Information

Number of Residents
If you do not have one of the following, leave the cell blank. Only complete cells that apply to your home.
# installed # installed # installed after
before 1980: before 1994: Jan. 1, 1994: Total
Number of Toilets 0
Number of Showerheads 0
Number of Faucets 0

Do you have a clothes washer? (Click box at right)

If yes, is the clothes washer Energy Star rated? (Click box at right)

What year was the clothes washer purchased?

Exterior Consumption Information

Please, make sure this information is as accurate as possible. It will make a big difference in your results.
Grass/Lawn Area sq.ft.
Shrub/Perennial/Groundcover Area sq.ft.
Xeric/Native Area sq.ft.
Total Landscape Area 0 sq.ft.

Please, fill out the 'Actual Use' column for each of the past twelve months. If you don't know what your use has
been, call 448-4800.

Budget with Potential Potential

Budget with Conserving Savings with Savings with
Actual Use Current Fixtures/ Current Conserving
Month (CF) Fixtures (CF) Practices (CF) Fixtures (CF) Fixtures (CF)
Jan #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Feb #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Mar #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Apr #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
May #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Jun #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Jul #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Aug #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Sep #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Oct #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Nov #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Dec #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Total Annual 0 #DIV/0! 0 #DIV/0! 0
Potential Savings and Recommendations
Potential Savings
CF Gallons Dollars
Potential Annual Water Savings 0 0 $0
Potential Annual Wastewater Savings 0 0 $0
Total Potential Annual Dollar Savings (if all fixtures were conserving) $0
Recommendations
Pre-1980 Toilets
No pre-1980 toilet recommendations

1980-1993 Toilets
No 1980-1993 toilet recommendations

Pre-1980 Showerheads
No pre-1980 showerhead recommendations

1980-1993 Showerheads
No 1980-1993 showerhead recommendations

Pre-1980 Faucets
No pre-1980 faucet recommendations

1980-1993 Faucets
No 1980-1993 faucet recommendations

Pre-1980 Clothes Washer

No pre-1980 clothes washer recommendations

1980 to 1993 Clothes Washer

No 1980-1993 clothes washer recommendations

1994-2003 Non-Energy Star Clothes Washer

No 1994-2003 clothes washer recommendations

Spring Irrigation
No Spring irrigation recommendations

Summer Irrigation
No Summer irrigation recommendations

Fall Irrigation
No Fall irrigation recommendations

Landscape Recommendations
No landscape recommendations
 Actual Use vs. Budget Use Chart
5000

4500

4000

3500

3000

2500
CF

2000

1500

1000

500

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Actual Use (CF) Budget with Current Fixtures (CF) Budget with Conserving Fixtures/ Practices (CF)

Notes:
Landscape irrigation water use is highly weather dependent. The irrigation estimates in this document are based on average conditions.
It is not unusual for actual use to exceed budget by about 10% under persistent hot and dry conditions.

All recommendations are general in nature. There are a number of end uses of water that this calculator does not address.
All pay back periods are based on projected water and wastewater rates and should only be viewed as broad estimates.
Budgets and savings estimates are generalized and based on several national studies of typical residential use.
Leaks are not addressed by this calculator, but are a common source of water waste.

All rebates listed in this document are subject to rules and regulations outlined in rebate applications and are only available for Colorado
Springs Utilities residential water customers.
For more information, visit www.csu.org or call 448-4800
Assumptions
Toilets Toilet GPCD
5 Flushes per person per day 24.32 Before 1980 #DIV/0! Estimated Toilet GPD Use Calculation
355 Days of use per year 17.02 Before 1994 0.00 Conserving Toilet GPD
5 Average gallons per flush before 1994 7.78 After Jan. 1, 1994
3.5 Average gallons per flush before 1994 6.22 WaterSense
1.6 Average gallons per flush after Jan. 1, 1994
1.28 Average gallons per flush w/WaterSense

Showerheads Showerhead GPCD

6 Minutes per person per day 25.09 Before 1980 #DIV/0! Estimated Shower GPD Use Calculation
355 Days of use per year 12.84 Before 1994 0.00 Conserving Shower GPD
4.3 Average gallons per minute before 1980 9.92 After Jan. 1, 1994
2.2 Average gallons per minute before 1994
1.7 Average gallons per minute after Jan.1, 1994

Faucets Faucet GPCD

8.1 Minutes per person per day 26.00 Before 1980 #DIV/0! Estimated Faucet GPD Use Calculation
355 Days of use per year 15.76 Before 1994 0.00 Conserving Faucet GPD
3.3 Average gallons per minute before 1980 11.82 After Jan. 1, 1994
2 Average gallons per minute before 1994
1.5 Average gallons per minute after Jan.1, 1994

Clothes Washer Clothes Washer GPCD

0.55 Uses per person per day - 1 pph
0.42 Uses per person per day - 2 pph
0.36 Uses per person per day - 3-4 pph
0.34 Uses per person per day - 5+ pph
365 Days of use per year
52 Average gallons per use - Federal Standard before 1980 0
46 Average gallons per use - Federal Standard before 1994
41 Average gallons per use - Federal Standard 1994
38 Average gallons per use - Federal Standard 2004
33 Average gallons per use - Federal Standard 2007
27 Average gallons per use - Energy Star 2001
19 Average gallons per use - Energy Star 2004
15 Average gallons per use - Energy Star 2007
0 Clothes Washer Yes/No
0 Estimated washer uses per person per day
52 Estimated gallons per use if not Energy Star
0 Estimated gallons per use if is Energy Star
0 Energy Star Yes/No
Actual estimated gallons per use
0.00 Estimated clothes washer GPD Use Calculation
0.00 Conserving clothes washer GPD
Landscaping
15.00 Gallons per square foot per average year - Grass/lawn
10.05 Gallons per square foot per average year - Shrubs/perennials/groundcovers

3.00 Gallons per square foot per average year - Xeric/native

Percent of Annual ET per month Rates
0.00% January Block 1 Block 2 Block 3
0.00% February $0.0221 $0.0410 $0.0615 Water
5.61% March $0.0239 Wastewater
9.38% April
12.62% May #DIV/0! Sum of Toilets, Showers, Faucets, and Washers
17.25% June #DIV/0! Estimated Actual Gallons per month
15.79% July 0 Conserving Gallons per month
11.61% August
14.67% September
8.49% October
4.59% November
0.00% December
Unit Dollar Savings Estimated Monthly Savings Estimated Annual Water Savings
0.0221 January $0 January $0
0.0221 February $0 February
0.0221 March $0 March Estimated Annual Wastewater Savings
0.0221 April $0 April $0
0.0221 May $0 May
0.0221 June $0 June
0.0221 July $0 July
0.0221 August $0 August
0.0221 September $0 September
0.0221 October $0 October
0.0221 November $0 November
0.0221 December $0 December
Yes
No
Replacing a 5 gallon per flush toilet with a WaterSense labeled toilet can save an average household
more than 14,000 gallons of water and wastewater each year. Colorado Springs Utilities offers a
rebate of up to $125 on WaterSense labeled toilets. With this rebate, a $250 WaterSense toilet will
pay for itself in just over a year.
Replacing a 3.5 gallon per flush toilet with a WaterSense labeled toilet can save the average
household nearly 9,000 gallons of water and wastewater each year. Colorado Springs Utilities offers
a rebate of up to $125 on WaterSense labeled toilets. With this rebate, a $250 WaterSense toilet will
pay for itself in less than two years.
Replacing a 5 gallon per minute showerhead with a new standard showerhead can save an average
household about 15,000 gallons each year. A standard $20 showerhead will pay for itself in about
two months.
Replacing a showerhead made between 1980 and 1994 may save an average household up to 3,000
gallons each year. A $20 investment may pay for itself in as little as a year.

Replacing a 3 gallon per minute faucet with a standard faucet or installing a 1.5 gallon per minute
faucet aerator can save an average household more than 14,000 gallons each year. Faucet aerators
generally cost between $5 and $10 each. A $10 aerator can pay for itself in less than 2 months.
Replacing a 2 gallon per minute faucet with a standard faucet or installing a 1.5 gallon per minute
faucet aerator can save an average household nearly 4,000 gallons each year. A $10 aerator can pay
for itself in less than 6 months.
Replacing a clothes washer made prior to 1980 with an Energy Star labeled clothes washer can save
an average household nearly 15,000 each year. Colorado Springs Utilities offers a rebate of $75 on
Energy Star labeled clothes washers. With this rebate, a $700 clothes washer will pay for itself in less
than seven years. A $400 standard (non-Energy Star) washer may take more than eight years to
pay for itself.
Replacing a clothes washer made between 1980 and 1994 with an Energy Star labeled clothes
washer can save an average household around 12,000 gallons each year. Colorado Springs Utilities
offers a rebate of $75 on Energy Star labeled clothes washers. With this rebate, a $700 clothes
washer will pay for itself in about eight years. A $400 standard (non-Energy Star) washer may take
twelve years to pay for itself.
Landscapes generally need about 25% less supplemental irrigation in Spring than Summer. Spring is
good time to check an irrigation system to ensure it is leak-free and properly adjusted. It is also a
good time to aerate the lawn to ensure that roots are getting adequate oxygen and that water will
readily penetrate the soil surface without running off. Visit www.csu.org for a list of water
conservation-related classes and information about our irrigation equipment rebates.
Runoff should never occur during watering. Consider using multiple shorter watering cycles if you see
runoff occurring. Over watering is also a common problem on sandy soils. Don't increase the amount
of time or days you irrigate just to eliminate a few brown spots. Kentucky bluegrass can usually turn
brown (go dormant) in the mid-summer heat and survive with little trouble. Visit the Xeriscape
Demonstration Garden at 2855 Mesa Rd. for more information.

Over watering is common in Fall because irrigation systems are not adjusted according to cooling
weather. Fall is a good time to aerate the lawn to ensure that roots are getting adequate oxygen and
that water will readily penetrate the soil surface without running off. This is also a good time of year to
apply a balanced fertilizer to lawns for an early green up the following Spring.
Lawns larger than 5,000 square feet are larger than average. It may be worth considering converting
some turfgrass that is not used for recreation or is difficult to efficiently irrigate to something that uses
less water. Among other things, a properly designed Xeriscape can be aesthetically pleasing year-
round, relatively low maintenance, a haven for important pollinators, and may even increase property
values. Visit www.csu.org for more information.