Case Study: How an HOA Identified More Than $450,000 in Annual Water Savings Opportunities

The Challenge

Home to more than 750 single-family residences in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, this HOA was actively searching for ways to control operating expenses.

Like many communities, the board focused much of its attention on landscape maintenance costs, which totaled approximately $225,000 annually. Maintenance proposals were reviewed regularly, and considerable effort was spent identifying opportunities to reduce expenses.

At first glance, landscape maintenance appeared to be one of the property's largest costs.

However, a detailed review revealed a much larger financial challenge.

The community was spending more than $450,000 annually on water. Outdated irrigation practices, inefficient scheduling, aging equipment, and landscape areas that no longer works with the property's long-term needs were contributing to excessive water consumption and unnecessary operating costs.

What initially appeared to be a maintenance cost issue was actually a water management opportunity with the potential to generate substantial long-term savings.

The Opportunity

Rather than focusing solely on reducing maintenance expenses, the board needed a strategy that addressed one of the property's largest operating costs: water.

SAS Tech evaluated the property's water use, irrigation systems, landscape conditions, and available funding opportunities to identify practical solutions that could improve efficiency while reducing long-term costs.

The assessment focused on:

• Irrigation system efficiency
• Water use patterns
• Equipment upgrades
• Available rebates and incentives
• Long-term operating costs
• Future regulatory requirements such as AB1572

The Solution

SAS Tech developed a practical roadmap that prioritized improvements based on return on investment, water savings potential, and available funding opportunities.

Recommendations included:

• Smart irrigation controller, drip irrigation, master valves and flow up sensor upgrades
• Irrigation scheduling optimization
• System efficiency improvements
• Targeted landscape modifications to comply with MWELO and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
• Rebate and incentive programs
• Long-term water management strategies

Rather than addressing each issue independently, the plan aligned water savings, funding opportunities, compliance considerations, and community goals into a single strategy.

The Results

The HOA gained a clear understanding of where its money was being spent and where the greatest opportunities for savings existed.

By shifting the conversation from maintenance costs alone to total operating expenses, the community identified significant opportunities to reduce water waste, improve irrigation performance, and lower long-term costs.

Most importantly, the board was able to make decisions based on data rather than assumptions, allowing them to focus resources where they would have the greatest impact.

Key Takeaway

Many HOAs spend considerable time evaluating maintenance contracts while overlooking much larger expenses hidden within water consumption and utility costs.

Sometimes the greatest savings don't come from spending less on maintenance.

They come from identifying where a property is quietly losing money every day.