A frustrated California homeowner went to Reddit after observing and reporting a concerning issue with a neighbor that went on for three days.
In the post, they explained how they saw their neighbor's water heater leaking heavily. After ringing the neighbor's doorbell with no answer, there was rising concern.
The Redditor explained that since the storage room door was open, one would assume someone was already aware of the situation because of the key-only access, but to err on the side of caution, the poster alerted the HOA.
The HOA responded with a brief "thanks" and three days after the Redditor saw the leak, still nothing had been done.
"Community water is being wasted," the post read.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, household leaks can waste nearly one trillion gallons of water each year in the United States. The EPA also reports the average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water a day.
Obviously, some of that water use is necessary, but much of it is wasteful. The EPA claims that letting your water run for five minutes while washing dishes can waste up to 10 gallons or more.
Studies by the Guardian show that the average water bill has gotten a lot more expensive between 2010 and 2018, more than doubling in some cities. The EPA believes that taking certain household measures can reduce your water usage by about 20%.
You can reduce your water usage by collecting shower water, creating rain barrels in your yard, upgrading your showerhead, cleaning your dishwasher to make it more efficient, or switching to Energy Star-certified appliances. Adopting a few of these habits could dramatically reduce an average household's water bill, saving more than $380 a year.
Reducing wasteful water consumption helps the environment by reducing our demand on rivers, bays, reservoirs, and other sources of water, saving money and energy while keeping our planet cooler.
HOAs are not famous for their money-saving or eco-friendly decisions. If anything, they tend to make the lives of those trying to install environmentally friendly updates to their homes more difficult. They are a roadblock on the path to a greener future, which is unfortunate for homeowners and our warming planet.
Luckily, there are resources and guidelines for those willing to work with the HOA toward amicable change.
"They should have sent someone to immediately shut off [the] water," a Redditor commented.
"Let the cops deal with it," another comment suggested.
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