Water Audit Report - Capitol Bldg

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4. Landscape Irrigation - The State Capitol Building is fully landscaped, mostly with Kentucky bluegrass. The landscaped area, about 200,000 square feet, is irrigated by an automatic sprinkler system. Watering is controlled by a clock, and normally takes place in the early morning hours. Each zone is watered 30-45 minutes per night, 5 nights per week. There is very little landscaped area adjacent to the State Office Building. Total water consumption for landscape irrigation at the State Capital Building is estimated to be the difference between average monthly water consumption at the site from November through April and peak monthly water use during April through October, less estimated facility cooling usage. Based on these assumptions, irrigation water usage at the site amounts to approximately 4,500,000gallons per year. Summary - Table 3 summarizes the water balance estimates. The water-use allocation estimates were based on discussions with State personnel and observations and measurements made during the site visit. TABLE 3 WATER BALANCE Domestic Use 3,190,000 Gallons 36% Facility Cooling 325,000 Gallons 4% Kitchen Use 100,000 Gallons 1% Landscape Irrigation 4,500,000 Gallons 50% Unaccounted For Usage 835,000 Gallons 9% TOTAL 8,950,000 Gallons 100% WATER CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES Water Conservation Opportunities were identified in the domestic use and landscape irrigation areas. The following cost factors were used to compute the potential savings of identified water-conservation measures: * Water cost of $0.60 per 1000 gallons. * Sewer costs of $1.66 per 1000 gallons of water used. * Electrical energy costs of $0.0609 per kilowatt-hour. * Natural gas energy cost of $0.3401 per hundred cubic feet.