EBMUD rebates main page.
Well and Recycled Water
Testing
Lab testing with Tap Score.
Guide to well water testing. Another well water testing guide.
Testing reviews: QualityWaterLab, Best Reviews.
Usage
Using well water for irrigation: Rain Bird, Outdoor Happens blog, Flourishing Plants blog.
Using recycled water in the garden. USDA recommendations.
Irrigation
EBMUD tips on reducing outdoor water.
EBMUD on Landscape to Laundry graywater system.
EBMUD offers rebates for installing smart irrigation controllers. EPA page on WaterSense controllers.
EBMUD landscape design assistance and rebate application for a $200 two-hour design consultation.
Home Problems
The old galvanized pipe inlet (vertical pipe) to the hose bib to the right of the front steps has an interior diameter of 3/4″ fine thread and an exterior diameter of 1″ fine thread. The replacement 1″ hose bib at Home Depot was a coarser thread and was a little too big for the top portion of the upright. The old hose bib had a single rubber washer screwed to the bottom of the valve. When the water is shut off (valve turned all the way clockwise), the washer blocks the water coming up the pipe as well as the 3/4″ diameter outlet to which the hose attaches. The old washer has an outside diameter of 1 1/16″, an inside diameter of 3/8″, and a thickness of 1/4″. The thin hard rubber washer between the bib flange and the upright flange has an outside diameter of 1 1/4″, an inside diameter of 1″, and a thickness of 1/16″. I replaced the cracked washers with two washers with an inside diameter of 3/16″, a thickness of 1/8″, and an outside diameter of 1 1/2″ cut down to 1 1/16″. Since the set screw fit into the smaller inside diameter of the new washers, I did not expand that opening. I used one of the rings cut from the new washers to replace the cracked flange washer though the new washer is 3/16″ thicker than the original washer. There is now a very slow drip (instead of a fast flow) from the upright connection to the hose bib. Possible replacement hose bib.
The sewer cleanout is under the big loquat tree outside the master bedroom window about 1 1/2′ from the sidewalk. The EBMUD water meter and water shutoff for both the inside and outside water is in the sidewalk on the Third Street side of the house in line with the side door to the house. That shutoff valve is a newer model and does not require a special tool to turn (and may be turned by the homeowner per the EMBUD tech who turned the on the water on 2023/6/23).
There is a hose bib coming from the side of the house in the back stair well. It (used to) provide hot water via a connection to a since-removed heater inside the basement.
There is a well pump housed behind the garage.
There is an in-ground valve to the right inside the side gate.
Freestanding hose bibs
- Right of front steps. Status: replaced washers to reduce leaking to a slight drip.
- Left of side gate. Status: slight drip from valve.
- Left of garage (below back master bedroom window). Status: probably needs new washer.
- Left back of back patio (near fence). Status: need to test; connected to well pump?
Sprinkler Valves
Currently three in-ground valves each turned with a sprinkler key.
- Left of front door path, key attached to valve a couple of feet in front of the left Meyer lemon. Controls a row of the original ground-level heads along the sidewalk on Lincoln and one riser in front of the dwarf magnolia tree under the front living room window. Status: water pressure is pretty weak to the furthest head and the middle heads cause puddles in the sidewalk since they don’t adequately clear the ground foliage.
- Right of the front door path, key on the front steps, valve under the right Meyer lemon tree. Controls a row of pop-ups on risers (retrofit of the original ground-level heads) along the sidewalk on Third Street between the corner and the side door path. Status: very hard to fully shut off; some of the risers leak at the base during use.
- Right of the side door path, key hanging on the window grill to the right of the side door, valve in front of the English lavender under the big loquat tree. Controls a row of pop-ups on risers (retrofit of the original ground-level heads) along the sidewalk on Third Street between path to the side door and the driveway. Status: water pressure is a little weak to the furthest head and some of the risers leak at the base during use.
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