Water Use Phase 3
We have severe drought conditions in California. Shea has agreed to provide non-potable water to the Village Center, however, Shea's past new home builds have focused on maintaining Trilogy's "look and feel" and Shea's standard landscapes for new homes use a significant amount of water. It is critical that Phase 3 new homes include low later use landscapes as standard. This should include not putting grass in front yards or grass in the parkways in front of homes.
The state has mandated that non-functional turf cannot be watered with potable water. This applies to grass that requires mowing in commercial areas. It does not apply to homes, parkways in front of homes, or trees and other plants. Future water restriction requirements could impact home water use.
Past Water Use
Shea has been claiming lower water use for homes built in Trilogy since 2017. To reach the claimed water use, the new homes would have needed a low water use landscape. Low water use landscapes were not provided as standard for new homes, they were an extra cost. Shea needs to change their approach for the Phase 3 new homes. Grass in front lawns and on the parkway strip use a significant amount of water.
Shea originally claimed that their Phase 3 plan will reduce water consumption by 26%. Based on information from the Woodlands Water Company, Shea's initial Phase 3 proposal would actually increase water use from between 6% and 16% over the original plan and the original plan included a 500 room hotel.
Shea has been understating water use for new homes since at least 2017. If Shea had made the landscape changes needed to meet their stated water use, overall Trilogy home water use would be about 10% lower than it is today. Shea’s initial Phase 3 proposal to the Board of Supervisors stated an average water use for new homes of 179 gallons per day. The Woodlands Water Company has stated that the new home water use for Shea's Phase 3 plan should be 275 gallons per day.
Shea’s Phase 3 Water Use Proposed Changes
The table below compares Shea’s Phase 3 proposed water use to the expected water use if Shea does not make the changes required to reduce water consumption.
Changing the hotel from 500 to 65 rooms reduces hotel water use significantly. This is more than offset by the addition of the new homes, condominiums, and the assisted living center. If current home plans are not changed, the original Woodlands planned water usage could be reached by removing the 65-room hotel.
Water Use Phase 3 Changes
Water use information below is based on the Phase 3 Plan presented in 2022 and adjusted to include the 65 room hotel.
Notes
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Water use is based on currently sized Trilogy homes and the Phase 3 plan that allows for up to 25% of new homes to have ADUs. This is a 16% increase in water use. If Shea commits to reaching the Woodlands Water Company water use of 275 gallons per day, their new plan would be 6% over the original Woodlands plan.
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The yearly average water use for all homes (from Woodlands Water Company) has been 380 gallons per day. This includes residents who, on their own, have replaced grass with low water use alternatives. The usage number is based on the size of the home lots.
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This is achievable if Shea is required to reduce grass significantly or uses artificial turf and use either drought tolerant landscapes or landscapes that don’t require water.
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This is the typical use in facilities in a number of states. Overall water use varies from 90 to 200 gallons per day.
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Based on water demand analysis from the Wallace Group (January 2017 plan amendment).