[JoMar]

I suspect they will know who changed their watering habits by comparing usage so knowing who to approach will not be too difficult. The question is, when they know you haven't changed your habits and water usage stays the same what is the penalty? I know the first step is to send a letter (several neighbors received one of those) but I don't know of any penalty after that, does anyone?

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

One problem in The Villages is that the builder is installing a Hunter irrigation panel that uses a "solar sync" monitor that doesn't work and nobody, including the builder, knows how it is supposed to work. Last summer, my system was watering at 50 percent in July, when it should have been at 100 percent or higher. Why can't the builder select a system that makes sense and is easy to use? The system is supposed to monitor weather conditions and automatically adjust the watering schedule accordingly. The Hunter solar sync system is totally useless, but, apparently it cannot be turned off.

I had the same problem. Blue wire disconnected, now it stays at 100%.

[skip0358]

Originally Posted by gap2415

Boy are you wrong. Our grass nearly needed to be replaced last year except we paid the penalties and salvaged it through watering often. We were quoted $6 k to replace it trying to water twice a week to be good villagers. We are in a newer area without the luxury of all those tall trees we enjoyed further north in TV.

We understand that in a drought changes need to be made but it was not a drought. Then to see water being sold when we are told to limit........

Too many make blanket statements without qualifiers.

The water being sold is drinking water. Your irrigation water is reclaimed. No rain no water.

[fred53]

Originally Posted by kansasr

So obviously the Daily Sun didn't research this accurately (only watering from 6-8pm) and doesn't clarify which of the two days on our current schedule we'll be restricted too....looks like we'll have to wait until we get an "official" notice from the district.

if you didn't read the article yourself? It's not as if people who post always read the whole article or even understand what they do read.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by photo1902

I had the same problem. Blue wire disconnected, now it stays at 100%.

Does disconnecting the blue wire also disable the rain sensor feature?

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Does disconnecting the blue wire also disable the rain sensor feature?

Absolutely not. It only disables the "Seasonal Adjustment" feature, which in many cases is not accurate and can lower the amount of time you have a particular zone set for. The seasonal adjustment feature also resets each day at midnight. For example, you set it at 100% (which means if you have a zone running for 60 minutes, it actually runs 60 minutes). When the SA adjusts itself nightly, it might drop it down to 70%, or even lower. Unless you disable the SA feature (blue wire), it will adjust itself to what it thinks is the correct setting. I learned this the hard way, and almost lost a good chunk of turf.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

With 57,000 homes, enforcement will be challenging. I think it is safe to say that compliance will be less than 100% ;-)

Simple............just look at water usage.

[tuccillo]

That won't tell you how many days per week you are watering. You can increase the runtime for each zone. I am not saying that is necessarily a good idea. The water meters don't tell you when the water is being used.

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Simple............just look at water usage.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

That won't tell you how many days per week you are watering. You can increase the runtime for each zone. I am not saying that is necessarily a good idea. The water meters don't tell you when the water is being used.

Everyone knows that.

The issue is not run time, the issue is usage. They don't care if you run seven days per week, if you are running one minute per day.

[tuccillo]

Starting June 5 they are restricting watering to one day so apparently running 7 days a week will be an issue. There is really no way to restrict usage. All they can do is try to limit the number of days people water and, while that is certainly correlated with usage, it is not the usage. I am well aware of what they are trying to do.

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Everyone knows that.

The issue is not run time, the issue is usage. They don't care if you run seven days per week, if you are running one minute per day.

[dewilson58]

[pauld315]

Originally Posted by skip0358

The water being sold is drinking water. Your irrigation water is reclaimed. No rain no water.

Not all of The Villages uses reclaimed water

[pauld315]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

That won't tell you how many days per week you are watering. You can increase the runtime for each zone. I am not saying that is necessarily a good idea. The water meters don't tell you when the water is being used.

Are you sure ? Do they actually have somebody walk door to door reading water meters once a month ? About 5 years ago at my house in Cary NC they installed a system where they don't have to send anybody to read meters anymore. I have a website I can go to and see my water usage by the hour if I want to. There is about a 3 or 4 hour delay from usage to updating the website. It is actually useful as you can setup alerts when your water usage exceeds x gallons in a day etc.

[pauld315]

Originally Posted by jgm3279

What about the snowbirds who are not here to change their settings?

I have the same question

[biker1]

They come around and read the meters each month.

What they want: Reduced irrigation water use

How they are trying to accomplish this: Tell people they can only water once per week for 2 months

The problem: Hard to enforce. You can send a nasty-gram but the restriction will be over in 2 months. People can reduce their watering to one day a week but increase the runtime. There doesn't appear to be a restriction on the amount of water you actually use.

What will this accomplish: Hard to say but hopefully they will get enough compliance to have an impact.

Originally Posted by pauld315

Are you sure ? Do they actually have somebody walk door to door reading water meters once a month ? About 5 years ago at my house in Cary NC they installed a system where they don't have to send anybody to read meters anymore. I have a website I can go to and see my water usage by the hour if I want to. There is about a 3 or 4 hour delay from usage to updating the website. It is actually useful as you can setup alerts when your water usage exceeds x gallons in a day etc.