Casa del Agua: Water conservation demonstration house 1986 through 1998

Casa del Agua (Casa) in suburban Tucson, Arizona, was designed as a residen tial water conservation facility for applied research, demonstration of ope rational results, and transfer of technology to the general public. Startin g in 1983, an existing residence was located, modified and retrofitted to a cquire operational data on residential water use. Modifications included re trofitting existing landscapes and enlarging the rooftop to collect and har vest rainwater; separating blackwater and graywater lines; installing meter s, low-water-use appliances and fixtures, and underground storage tanks for rainwater and graywater; and creating a public information center. Over th e 13-plus years of actual operation, both the interior and exterior water u se research results indicate large reductions in water use can be effected using water-saving devices and/or harvesting and reusing rainwater and gray water. Casa achieved over a 24 percent reduction in total water use and a 4 7 percent reduction in municipal water used compared to the typical Tucson residence. Overall water used was comprised of harvested rainwater (10 perc ent), recycled graywater (20 percent), and municipal water (70 percent). Ca sa's Information Center was visited by approximately 13,000 people from Sep tember 1985 through April 1999 and the research has been featured in local, national, and international media.