KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
A Santa Clarita Valley couple has a plan to help residents save thousands of gallons of water annually with nothing more than a thrift-store bucket.
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Frank Hoffman, better known around the SCV as Ranger Frank, and his wife, Mary Hoffman, are Canyon Country residents and have lived in the Santa Clarita Valley for 15 years.
Mary and Frank Hoffman. Photo courtesy of the Hoffman’s.
“It’s real simple: A lot of people have to wait for the water to get warm in their house before they jump in the shower or the tub or whatever or even the kitchen sink for that matter,” Frank Hoffman said. “We put these buckets of water underneath the faucet while we’re waiting for the water to get warm, before we get into the shower or the tub.”
By the time the water is warm, the bucket is full, he said.
The Hoffmans then take the bucket out of the shower or sink and set it aside to use for things such as water for their pets and potted plants.
“We come home and we have water — water that is otherwise lost,” Frank Hoffman said. “It’s lost, you can’t doing anything about that. Bye, bye money.”
Water in the Santa Clarita Valley costs about $0.01 per gallon, not including the fixed meter rate or the commodity rate, said Castaic Lake Water Agency General Manager Dan Masnada.
“It’s about conserving water this year that will be available to us next year,” Masnada said.
“The costs go up for us to take water out of our banking program. By saving water, you stretch that bucket of water into next year and defer the incremental cost from bringing more into our valley.”
Here are some figures about how much money and water Santa Clarita Valley residents can save:
| Household Size | If Three Gallons Are Saved Per Day For 365 Days | Price Per Gallon(Without Meter or Commodity Rates) | Dollars Saved |
| One person | 1095 gallons | $0.01 | $10.95 |
| Two people | 2190 gallons | $0.01 | $21.90 |
| Three people | 3285 gallons | $0.01 | $32.85 |
| Four people | 4380 gallons | $0.01 | $43.80 |
A family of four could go to the movies, buy a Christmas tree, Christmas ham or get an oil change.
Standard shower heads use about 2.5 gallons of water per minute, according to the Environmental Protection Agency website.
“We want to donate 100 buckets (to the community),” Frank Hoffman said. “We have 36 purchased so far and are looking for a co-sponsor, someone who sells buckets.”
The Hoffmans are working to set up an event to give buckets away to the community to help save water.
“We want people to start saving money right now,” Frank Hoffman said. “We want people to start saving water right now. That’s the bottom line.”
The Hoffmans also run an educational business called Families Active With Nature (FAWN), as well as volunteer for the Michael Hoefflin Foundation, are membership chairman for the California Hawking Club and have been certified under three programs in the Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)
FAWN started the business seven years ago, Mary Hoffman said. They host educational animal presentations and educate people on wildlife preservation.
“(This project is) our gift to the community,” Frank Hoffman said. “This community has given so much to me and my family, from living here to the things that folks have donated over the years. We want to give back and I thought, ‘What a simple way to do it.’”
For more information about the project, you can contact Frank and Mary Hoffman at hawkinhoffmans@yahoo.com.
“Get the whole family involved. Make it a project and report back to us,” Frank Hoffman said. “How much money did you save, what did you do, did you pay it forward.”
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My family has been doing this for six months. The kitchen sink and both showers have these tubs. When it rains, however, our plants are watered so now we are filling up larger containers (plastic barrels) to hold the household water and use it when things dry up again. Please post all valuable water savings tips.
Fantastic Donna! It’s a great way for all of us to visually realize how much water we let just run down the drain with no concern. We too collect the rain water – just be sure to use it before it goes stale. Wash your windows, floors, car… The uses are endless!
I have been using the bucket in the shower for years/perhaps decades. Water in Newhall is expensive and shouldn’t be flushed down the drain. I use it to water my garden and potted plants. They seem to like it. Kudos for the tips.