I was charged $400 for the meter when the irrigation system was put in because it was done at the same time. I paid it then, so it's probably not added to this bill. 10 minutes per zone doesn't seem like enough to me. When I was first watering, I did 20 minutes, and within an hour, the first zone was completely bone dry on the top. Well I'm just hoping that the areas that still have to come in, do so with just watering once a day in the morning for a week, and then 2-3 times next week, and the back to my normal schedule the week after for what is left of the watering season before my system gets shut off. Oh yes, and my $183 wasn't for one month, that was spread out over 3 months. I pay quarterly.

I've had to water this year a fraction of what I've had to water the two summers previous to it. We've not had lots of rain but just enough that I've only had to supplement a few times. If I would stop adding beds and borders I might have gotten away with just watering once ( except container plants of course). Had to get the new plants going. I actually have green grass ( what little I have) this summer and have not watered it at all. Refuse to waste water on grass--it went brown in an area once this summer but bounced back after the next decent rain. I have one section of grass that looked terrible the past few summers, surrounded by a lush garden was this ugly crispy fried grass. No more, I put in a lovely new bed there with plants that don't need alot of fuss and said goodbye to the cripsy fried.

I had no real idea, on how I was going to start it up. and, the worst, I didn't take pictures!!! But, I dug a trench. At the top of the hill, where the water comes from the drive way and the other downspout (no rain barrel there yet) I dug a hole. I knew, you could buy a "box" to bury and hook to a drain pipe, but I am cheap. LOL. I used a black pot a tree came in. Set it in to see for fit, and then cut a hole near the top for the drain pipe. Fitted the drain pipe, and buried the drain pipe. The pipe I purchased did not have holes in it, but I put some along the bottom of the pipe. I mainly want to drain the water off. I am not that concerned with dispersing it along the way. I didn't fill the trench back up all the way, as I have a lot of rocks I thought I could put over it, to make somewhat of a dry creek. Also thought, this would be a place for more water to go, when it really poured, and wouldn't drain down to the pipe. I put some big chunks of concrete in the pot. Had those pieces here on this property when we bought it. Then, across the top I wish I had a grate that fits, but just put some landscape fabric and some bigger rocks that would hide it. I also used landscape fabric in the partially refilled trench, to keep the rocks from disappearing. Well, it worked. It drained it off. I guess, I need to get with it, and dig the rest of the trench and bury the rest of the pipe. Prior to all this, I talked with the neighbor below, and conferred with her on where to let this water drain to her property. As of right now, it all drains to one end of her property, and her french drain can't handle it all. We are draining it at the other end, and she will deal with it, if it doesn't work for her. Yeah, now, maybe my hill won't continue to wash down to her back yard. I sure wish, I had taken photos. Will take one of what it looks like right now, in the raw, and later, when it is finished and planted nearby. My goal is to have a rain barrel at each drain pipe. Till now, I had just two at the lower extensions that came from under the deck. I would pump this water up to the deck level in to a garbage can on wheels, and pull that around the house to water stuff with my watering can. I want to hook hoses to my barrels, to connect to my soaker hoses. Overall, I want to cut down on the amount of water going to waste, and the amount of $ I pay to water from the faucet. Moni

Did I mention we got an energy report? We saw that our bills were comparable to the past tennants 12 month history. Our utility bill states we are using about the average amount of energy compared to other homes this size in our zip code. and the energy report came from utility company? of course your bills will be comperable. consider the source of info. utility info is biased to favor utility co. same with the audits they provide...10-15% savings max as compared to 30%+ with independent evaluation. my clients save 50% on average once my recommendations are completed and work is verified & tested. without blower door & duct testing...it is just a guess as to where the house/ducts/returns leak. air sealing is the best savings. cheap to do, immediate results..long term benefit depending upon the life of the sealant (use caulk..expands contracts unlike foams) duct sealing next best savings. average homes have 30% duct loss. a bucket of mastic & a morning spent sealing ducts also has long term benefit with immeidate results. beating the heat before it enters the house trumps changing windows & doors. awnings, plantings, and solar screens. once the heat is inside..then you pay to cool it. the down side to 'average billing' is that at the end of the averaged cycle, you pay the amount you went over the average. for some people this can be a real problem. never insulate before air sealing. insulation filters air it doesn't stop it. only foam insulation stops air leakage and insulates. not great stuff... best of luck.