In many HOAs, the association pays for owner utilities like water and electricity. The hope is that residents will use these utilities prudently and conserve them by keeping the fixtures that dispense them in optimal working condition. Not so.

Take water, for example: While association water bills continue to ratchet up, residents too often let dripping faucets and trickling toilets become background noise. (Did you know that 10 drips per minute waste 526 gallons of water a year?) The same principle applies to other association paid utilities. Lights are often left on when no one's home.

It's basic human nature: I'm not paying (directly) for it, so who cares? This lack of concern causes resources and dollars to literally go down the drain.

Is the association helpless to control it? No. Whenever there is a association paid cost, the Board has the responsibility to monitor and control that usage. So how is that best done?

Analyze Utility Usage. Looking at the last 24-36 months of utility bills can reveal much. Is usage consistent for the months in question? If the total yearly usage is divided by number of homes by 12 months, is it consistent with utility company averages? If not, roll up your sleeves, you've got work to do.

Utility bills are usually one of an HOA's biggest expenses. A 5-10% reduction may translate into thousands of dollars of savings.

Perform a Utility Audit. All homes should be surveyed for fixtures that control HOA paid utilities. The first step is to send out a checklist form with postpaid return envelope to all residents. The survey should include questions and items you need the resident to respond to such as:

1. Toilet(s) running continuously?

Yes___ (how many? ___)? No___? If unsure, put a couple drops of dark food coloring the tank, wait for 15 minutes and if color shows in the bowl, it's running.

2. Faucets drip? Yes___ (how many? ___) ? No___?

3. Do you have low flow faucets?

Yes___? No (how many? ___)___? Unsure___?

4. Do you have low flow showheads?

Yes___? No (how many? ___)? Unsure___?

5. Do you have a programmable clock for your heat?

Yes___? No___? Unsure___?

6. Are all exterior light fixtures using compact fluorescent bulbs? Yes___? No (how many? ____)?

Schedule Repairs. Approach this campaign as a way of saving a bucket load of money to deter claims of invasion of privacy. Explain in dollars and cents how reducing water consumption by 10, 20 or 30 percent could reduce the monthly assessment. Since water is a major budget item, the reduction is significant. Based on the savings, the HOA can justify paying for the repairs and it's cheaper for everyone if they're done efficiently. These repairs can be done by maintenance people who charge a fraction of what plumbers charge.

Perform Repairs. Pick a weekend when a repair crew can do repairs advise residents of the schedule and need to be home during no more than a two hour time frame.

Using the returned Utility Audit as guides, have crews equipped with toilet tank repair kits, an assortment of faucet washers, low flow water restrictors, 13 watt compact fluorescent bulbs and programmable clocks for heat move quickly from house to house. The repairs shouldn't take more than 15-30 minutes per unit so two men could do around 40 homes or more in a day.

There may be several homes that cannot be accessed because the owner is unavailable. Arrange another weekend to finish up. There may be a few who refuse access but with 80-90% compliance, the project is a great success. And if there is evidence that a hold-out's unit is leaking water (You can hear it running.), it qualifies under the HOA's emergency access rights.

When it comes to conserving energy and reducing costs in HOAs, it's the drips and the watts that'll get you. Do an annual energy review to make sure you don't slip drips and know what's watt.

For more information on this subject, see www.Regenesis.net.

Published: January 9, 2002

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Richard Thompson owns Regenesis, a management consulting company that specializes in condominium and homeowner associations. He is a nationally recognized expert on HOA management issues. Regenesis publishes The Regenesis Report, a monthly newsletter for HOA boards, developers and managers. To subscribe, go to Regenesis.net. He can be contacted by email at .