While California in the midst of a four-year drought, ACCC offers financial tips to save Los Angeles residents water and money.
Boston, MA – July 6, 2015
The ongoing four-year drought in Los Angeles has eaten away at beautiful green lawns, jacked up water prices and forced California regulators to order a 25 percent cut in urban water use. That’s why this summer, American Consumer Credit Counseling is offering financially smart tips for Los Angeles residents to conserve water and save money during the warmest months of the year.
This year alone, 430,000 acres in California will be left fallow to drought, according to the National Geographic. In response, local water agencies have offered incentives for people to replace thirsty grass with more water-conscious drought alternatives. Homeowners have earned rebates up to $3 a square foot for removing water guzzling turf. This rebate money can be used to help eliminate debt. In addition, for each square foot of grass they remove, homeowners save an average of 44 gallons of water a year.
“California is now, for the first time in history, under mandatory water restrictions,” said Steve Trumble, President and CEO of American Consumer Credit Counseling. “Although living with less water is not ideal, making just a few small changes to your daily habits can result in big water savings.”
Here is a list of ways to conserve water and save money:
- Install new drought-tolerant water plants in place of lawns. Some alternatives would be to use mulch, artificial turf or plants that require much less water.
- Invest in rain barrels so you’re ready when the rain finally hits.
- Adjust sprinklers to hit only the lawn, not the sidewalks or non-grassy areas. Also reschedule your sprinklers to run less frequently.
- Fix leaky faucets. Dripping may not seem like a lot but it can waste hundreds of gallons of water a year.
- Make sure hoses have water-efficient spray nozzles, which prevent major leaks.
- Don’t rinse scraps of food down the sink after dinner. Scrape them into your garbage can instead.
- Don’t walk away while the shower is warming up and when you jump in, limit your shower to five to eight minutes.
- Don’t let the water run while you’re shaving, brushing teeth or getting a drink of water.
- Consider paper plates and cups if you’re hosting a larger crowd. This will cut down on dishwasher use.
- Don’t run the dishwasher and washing machine until you have a full load.
Take advantage of these opportunities to help aid in California’s environmental struggles as well as any financial struggles you may have.
ACCC is a 501(c)3 organization that provides free credit counseling, bankruptcy counseling, and housing counseling to consumers nationwide in need of financial literacy education and money management. For more information, contact ACCC:
- For credit counseling, call 800-769-3571
- For bankruptcy counseling, call 866-826-6924
- For housing counseling, call 866-826-7180
- Or visit us online at ConsumerCredit.com
American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) is a nonprofit credit counseling 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering consumers to achieve financial management and debt relief through education, credit counseling, and debt management solutions. ACCC provides individuals with practical debt solutions for solving financial problems and recognizes that consumers’ financial difficulties are often not the result of poor spending habits, but more frequently from extenuating circumstances beyond their control. As one of the nation’s leading providers of financial education and credit counseling services, ACCC’s certified credit advisors work with consumers to help them determine the best plan of action to get out of debt and regain financial stability. ACCC holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. For more information or to access free financial education resources, log on to ConsumerCredit.com or visit TalkingCentsBlog.com.
