Saving on Sprinklers

 

Ft. Worth, Tex.-located Hulen Oaks Apartments is managed by LumaCorp, which has developed a unique strategy to save on irrigation bills.

LumaCorp, Inc. of Dallas, Tex. has figured out a way to save thousands of dollars on the cost of watering lawns.

Towns usually charge apartments both for the water they use and for the cost of taking that water back into the sewer system. But LumaCorp has installed meters to measure exactly how much water is sprinkled over the lawns and landscaping at LumaCorp?EUR??,,????'???s projects. Because this water goes into the ground and not into the sewers, LumaCorp has convinced all the towns in which it owns properties to deduct the volume of this water from its sewer bills.

A community with 200 to 350 units could easily spend $7,000 a year on water for its landscaping. Typically that community would also pay $7,000 in sewage cost for that water. By metering water used for irrigation, though, LumaCorp escapes the sewage charges.

The meters can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000, depending on how much the municipality charges for meters and how complicated the piping is to the sprinklers. But the system should quickly pay for itself.

Other landlords have drilled their own wells to save on the cost of watering their lawns. Well water sometimes has too many minerals for pleasant drinking, but it?EUR??,,????'???s fine for watering the grass.

NAI Cohen-Esrey Real Estate Services, Inc., based in Kansas City, Mo., has drilled wells to water lawns at many of its properties at a cost of $5,000 apiece.

?EUR??,,????'??We have free water,?EUR??,,????'?? said R. Lee Harris, president of NAI Cohen-Esrey. In addition, because many towns in the state will not allow property owners to water their landscaping with city water, ?EUR??,,????'??everyone?EUR??,,????'???s lawn is dry and brown, except ours,?EUR??,,????'?? Harris said. ?EUR??,,????'??? Affordable Housing Finance