City of Elko Water Conservation Program

Our Goal is to "Reduce City Water Use by 10%"

Communities that use water efficiently are better prepared to cope with the effects of drought.

Improving a community's water efficiency is quicker and cheaper than developing additional water supplies.

Reduced water use may extend the life of our water and wastewater facilities.

Water saved is also energy and money saved for you and your community. Efficient water use means less power needed to pump and treat water and wastewater.

Reduced pumping of groundwater lessens the chance that pollutants will be drawn into our groundwater

Water your lawn early in the morning or late in the evening to reduce evaporation.
Follow the City’s mandatory “every other day” watering schedule. Residents with homes or businesses with odd numbered addresses water outdoors on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Residents with homes or businesses with even numbered addresses water outdoors on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Mondays residents must hand water only.
Use drip irrigation for shrubs and trees.
Maintain your sprinkler system and adjust sprinkler heads so only your lawn is watered and not your sidewalk, street, and house.
Whenever possible plant and maintain drought tolerant plants that don’t require a lot of water.
Don’t cut your lawn too short. Maintain a lawn length of 2 inches to have a healthy law.

Use mulch in your flower gardens to reduce evaporation and discourage weed growth.
Wash your car at the car wash or wash it at home with a bucket and rag only using your garden hose to rinse your car.
Promptly fix leaky sprinkler lines and leaks in your evaporation cooling systems. Have your evaporative cooling systems maintained by qualified technicians.
Learn about water saving plant materials from your local landscape nursery center
Don't overwater your lawns and flower gardens. Residents must be aware that it is "against the law" to overwater and allow your lawn water to run off your property into the street, gutter or onto your neighbor's property. Violation of this law can result in monetary fines and/or termination of water service.

Check your water pipes and faucets for leaks. Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth or shaving.

Limit your time in the shower.

Install flow restricting devices in your faucets and showers to reduce water flow.

Check your toilet periodically for leaks. Place a few drops of food coloring in the flush tank. After a few minutes check the bowl, if any of the food coloring appears, you have a leak in your flush valve.

Listen for gurgling sounds coming from your toilet. These noises indicate the flush valve needs to be adjusted.

Install a displacement device such as a toilet dam or water log in the tank to reduce the amount of water used to flush the toilet.

Avoid using your toilet as a wastebasket or ashtray. Extra flushes wastes water and money.

Wash full loads of clothes in your washer and dishes in your dishwasher.

Keep a jug of water in the refrigerator instead of letting the water run from the tap until cold.

When cleaning, fill a basin or pail instead of letting the water run.

Summer 2004 Citizen's Guide to Community Water Conservation

Summer has arrived in Elko. During the summer months the City of Elko experiences a dramatic increase in water usage. High water use during the Summer months places a heavy burden on the City of Elko’s municipal water system. The City Water Department would like to remind residential and commercial water customers to be “smart” and conserve water. Our water is a precious resource. Consumers must remember that it costs money to pump and treat our municipal water. This precious resource is limited and it is the responsibility of each consumer to use our water resource wisely. This site can help consumers reduce the amount of water used at home and at work.


Mandatory Watering Days Schedule [June 15 to September 15]

As a means of conserving water during summer months, the City of Elko has established a mandatory outdoor watering schedule from June 15 through September 15 each year. This mandatory schedule limits homeowners and business owners with odd numbered addresses to water outdoors on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Homeowners and business owners with even numbered addresses are required to water outdoors on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The city parks, baseball fields and soccer fields will be watered on Sunday night to Monday morning, Tuesday night to Wednesday morning and Thursday night to Friday morning in order to make these facilities available for play on weekends. “Hand watering” of flowers and dry lawn areas is permitted, as needed, under the mandatory watering schedule. Treated wastewater will be used to irrigate the Ruby View Golf and for dust abatement on construction sites in accordance with state and local regulations. Civil fines will be imposed on any person or business owner found in violation of the city’s regulations limiting outdoor use of municipal water.


City Code Section 9-1-12: Regulating and Limiting Outdoor Use of Municipal Water

The City of Elko would like residents and business owners to know that Elko City Code, Section 9-1-13 prohibits the waste of municipal water. It is “against the law” to over water your lawn and allow water to run off your property and into the street or onto your neighbor’s property. Violation of this law can result in monetary fines and/or termination of municipal water service.
Reasons to Water Wisely
Communities that use water efficiently are better prepared to cope with the effects of drought. Improving a community's water efficiency is quicker and cheaper than developing additional water supplies. Reduced water use may extend the life of our water and wastewater facilities. Water saved is also energy and money saved for you and your community. Efficient water use means less power needed to pump and treat water and wastewater. Reduced pumping of groundwater lessens the chance that pollutants will be drawn into our groundwater

Your Yard
Over half of the water used by residential customers is for outdoor landscape irrigation. Use these ideas to save water:

Water your lawn early in the morning or late in the evening to reduce evaporation. Follow the City’s mandatory “every other day” watering schedule. Residents with homes or businesses with odd numbered addresses water outdoors on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Residents with homes or businesses with even numbered addresses water outdoors on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Mondays residents must hand water only. Use drip irrigation for shrubs and trees. Maintain your sprinkler system and adjust sprinkler heads so only your lawn is watered and not your sidewalk, street, and house. Whenever possible plant and maintain drought tolerant plants that don’t require a lot of water. Don’t cut your lawn too short. Maintain a lawn length of 2 inches to have a healthy law.	Use mulch in your flower gardens to reduce evaporation and discourage weed growth. Wash your car at the car wash or wash it at home with a bucket and rag only using your garden hose to rinse your car. Promptly fix leaky sprinkler lines and leaks in your evaporation cooling systems. Have your evaporative cooling systems maintained by qualified technicians. Learn about water saving plant materials from your local landscape nursery center Don't overwater your lawns and flower gardens. Residents must be aware that it is "against the law" to overwater and allow your lawn water to run off your property into the street, gutter or onto your neighbor's property. Violation of this law can result in monetary fines and/or termination of water service.

Xeriscaping
The art of creating a landscape with the goal to reduce water usage is called xeriscaping. Plants requiring little or no watering, or those that can survive droughts, are chosen. Cultural practices such as soil preparation and mulching are also used extensively in xeriscaping. Xeriscaping DOES NOT mean using no water in the landscape. It implies the managed use of irrigation water. Many plants tolerant of drought conditions are also tolerant of flood conditions. Careful study and reading of xeriscaping books is essential, or visit your local nurseries for information and advice on xeriscape.
Bathroom, Kitchen & Laundry Residents can reduce water waste indoors by doing the following:
Check your water pipes and faucets for leaks. Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth or shaving. Limit your time in the shower. Install flow restricting devices in your faucets and showers to reduce water flow. Check your toilet periodically for leaks. Place a few drops of food coloring in the flush tank. After a few minutes check the bowl, if any of the food coloring appears, you have a leak in your flush valve. Listen for gurgling sounds coming from your toilet. These noises indicate the flush valve needs to be adjusted. Install a displacement device such as a toilet dam or water log in the tank to reduce the amount of water used to flush the toilet. Avoid using your toilet as a wastebasket or ashtray. Extra flushes wastes water and money. Wash full loads of clothes in your washer and dishes in your dishwasher. Keep a jug of water in the refrigerator instead of letting the water run from the tap until cold. When cleaning, fill a basin or pail instead of letting the water run.

Recycled Water The City Water Reclamation Facility cleans our wastewater in order that the processed, or "recycled Water", can be used for a number of outdoor water uses to conserve our potable water. We depend on the use of over 300 million gallons of recycled water each year to satisfy water demands such as: Water for turf irrigation at the Ruby View Golf Course. the Golf Course uses only recycled water to irrigate the golf course between the months of June and September of each year. To provide water to contractors for construction site dust suppression and soil compaction activities. To grow hay and alfalfa at the Elko County Fairgrounds and at the Elko Land Application Site. The use of recycled water is required by the City of Elko, to meet the City's summer irrigation needs. Please contact the Elko City Water Reclamation Facility at 775-777-7386, or the City Engineering Department at 775-777-7210, to obtain additional information about the use of recycled water within the City.
How You Can Help For more information on how you can help conserve water contact: City of Elko Engineering Department (775) 777-7210