This month instead of selling something on my online shop, I thought I’d take a break and instead talk about a product that I’ve found immensely useful in saving water and money! One of the perks of working at a zero waste shop is that I learn of more ways to be sustainable. I happened to watch a local lecture about some ways we can save water (and energy) and learned about a rebate that my water district (Contra Costa Water Department) provides for the Flume digital water monitoring system. And in the 4 months we’ve had it, we’ve learned a lot about our water usage.

First off installing the Flume is super easy. It comes with two pieces, one that straps around your water main in front of your house (see picture below) and a second one that’s plugged and connected to wifi that sits inside your home (it sits in our garage). The piece that’s on the water main is able to sense the water coming into your home from your water main (thus detecting any excessive usage of water), while the second piece sends that data to an app on your phone.

Since installing our Flume we’ve learned that one of our toilets is a huge water waster (4 gallons! Most modern toilets should use about 1.6 gallons), and thus we’re working on getting a new toilet (and now we preferentially use one of our newer toilets). Luckily we haven’t had a leak yet since installing Flume, but I feel assured that whenever we do (and with old houses it’s always a “when” not an “if”) Flume will detect it. Last year we once had a leak go on for a months undetected until it caused an audible rushing sounds, and I can just imagine all the water (and money) it wasted. Luckily the leak was under the house and didn’t cause too much water damage. But usually leaks can cause real catastrophes so it’s important to catch them early. Which is why I think everyone should invest in a water monitoring system.

The above is the current offer for those living in my county (Contra Costa County). The Flume system usually goes for $250 so this is a great rebate that my county is offering. And the Flume system is so worth it. It not only can save your house and your money, but we all need to get smarter about our water usage.

P.S. I encourage all of you guys to check out what programs your city or county provides for saving water. For those who live in Contra Costa County you can find a list of rebate programs from the CCWD here.