North Texans Are Coping with Higher Water Bills

Water restrictions have eased in North Texas, but water bills are soaring. What’s a beleaguered homeowner to do about his yard? 

Cooling fall temperatures may bring a temporary respite, especially if an El Nino weather pattern serves up a rainy winter.  Not a prediction, but we can hope.

For the long term, the savvy homeowner should become wiser about water usage in their household and also adapt their landscaping to employ more drought-tolerant turf and plants.  Fortunately, a number of great resources are available to help the water-worried find relief. 

Always check the design guidelines and modifications process for your community association before making changes to your landscape.

Here’s What Homeowners Can Do

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension offers a number of programs to educate homeowners about best practices in conserving water.   

• Tour the WaterSense Labeled Home and Multi-Family Apartments at the Extension Center on Coit Road in Dallas.
• Programs and demos are available for schools and community events.
• Speakers are available to make presentations to you annual meeting or other community gathering for a nominal fee of $100.
• Manyeducational materials, such as this, are available on the website.
• Ask an Expert or read more about Earth Kind Landscaping 
• Contact Karen Sanders at karen.sanders@tamu.edu or 972.952.9671 to arrange programs, tours, and speakers.

McKinney’s  Myers Park hosts Earth-Kind GardenTours as well as an annual Garden Show featuring native plants and water saving landscape ideas.  Visit the websites to learn details or contact Earth Kind Garden Tours at 972-548-4219.

The city of Plano hosts periodic Water-Wise Landscape Tours. Sign up to be notified for the spring tour.

The CMA Blog posts articles:  Running out of Water features Water-Wise tips from Dr. Dottie Woodson of the Texas A& M Agricultural Extension

A Home to Make Dreams Come True

Tour Custom Model September 26-October 30

In partnership with A Wish with Wings, a Texas non-profit that works to grant wishes of Texan children with life-threatening medical conditions, a home in Carillon Southlake is opening its doors for a good cause.  The Carillon community association is managed by CMA.

Jon Atwood, president of Atwood Custom Homes, builds homes to fuel his passion for creating. With over ten years of experience and creativity, each home he builds is meant to be the dream home for every homeowner.  Atwood's lot was originally purchased and designed for a different client - who backed out last minute. "Fort Worth Magazine" turned this empty lot around by asking Atwood to be this year's builder. He worked at lightning speed and had the home sold before framing began!

Nearly 10,000 people are expected to tour this 6,000 square foot home located at 1100 Lake Carillon Drive - you can enjoy this amazing home from September 26 until October 30. It is $10.00 to tour - You won't want to miss it! 

Admission is $20, which includes a $10 donation to A Wish with Wings.

Spa-Like Owner's Retreat!

Many homeowners are spending time and money creating a real haven in their master bathroom. Focusing on those changes that inspire relaxation and luxury,  many opt for a space that they enjoy for more than just showering and brushing their teeth!

If you are considering making a bathroom change, think about what you would like to include; a soaking tub rather that a whirlpool, dual shower heads for a couples experience, a ledge for you to sit on or for propping a leg up for shaving. Do you need a full glass shower with shower doors to keep clean? How about just a recessed shower pan with open sides for entering? Many people are even adding a heated mat under the tile to create a warmer floor on cold mornings.

If you are thinking of making your master bathroom have a more spa-like feeling, think of using subtle colors and finishes, with soft undertones of nature.

Thanks to Tamara Hyland, owner of  Total Renaissance Construciton and Renovations for being our guest blogger.  

Community Pool Makes a Splash on Social Media

CMA is sharing a social media post about a great neighborhood we manage.  Here's what homeowners say about their community pool. It's wonderful to be able to enjoy a refreshing, well-maintained swimming pool on these hot August days.

What if Bruce Springsteen conducted your leadership workshop?

What can you learn and apply in your community?

A professional colleague of our company’s CEO shared a classic Springsteen and the E-Street band video as a great example of leadership and how teams work creatively.  So this idea is not original with CMA, but we thought it worth sharing.  Whether you’re a Springsteen fan or not, you’ll be able to observe “how” they make music and their exuberant enthusiasm in creating an experience for their audience and themselves.

Bruce and the core E-Street Band have played together since the early 70s.  You can read more of their history on Wikipedia if you’re not already a fan.

Springsteen never tells the band the playlist until just as the show starts. And band members say the list doesn’t matter much, because he almost always changes mid-stream. He is prone to decide in the moment to play a different version of the intended song.  While this may sound unprepared, for these consummate professionals, it’s an edge that keeps the performance fresh.  As the video illustrates, he often throws an unplanned song to the band. This is where the leadership example comes in.  Take a few minutes to watch the video and count the number of leadership traits you can observe.

View the Video

As our colleague commented when he shared this link: “There is risk involved. There is a spontaneity that doesn’t give anybody time to posture or second guess. The band is watching and waiting while preparing for an experience. They have probably played 'You Never Can Tell' before, but it is about to become a live product that they hear as they make it. Note the showcasing of the band members, especially the horn section. They have not been with the E-Street Band very long compared to the core members. There is no consulting about their readiness. Yet Springsteen pulls, not pushes. Most of all, note that Springsteen and everybody else is simply having fun. It’s contagious.”

Renowned for his tireless energy and 3 hour ‘plus’concerts, “…Springsteen and the band clearly appear to be having fun, feeding off each other.  Especially listen to his very last sentence at the fade out. It sums up teamwork.  Use his last sentence to evaluate your own leadership skillset.”

Some take-aways from your viewing might suggest how to engage your community.

• Don’t be afraid to be spontaneous.
• Invite newer members to participate and be in the spotlight.
• Appreciate the talents of other members and trust them to perform.
• Smile, engage and have fun.
• Welcome everyone to join in and delight in a shared experience.

 That’s why they call him ‘The Boss.’  He clearly knows something about leadership.

Running out of water!

What can homeowners do to conserve it?

Access to adequate, clean water has become a critical issue for Texas communities. Drought, water restrictions, increased demands on municipal water supplies due to population growth and business development—these challenges quite literally affect homeowners and their backyards!  

What can community associations and owners do to preserve this precious natural resource?

A beautiful landscape with a lot of water conserving flowering
plants and efficient irrigation practices. 

Dr. Dotty Woodson, Extension Program Specialist-Water Resources with Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension lectures worldwide educating professional and lay audiences about best practices in water conservation.

In a recent talk hosted by CMA, Dr. Woodson presented strategies which community associations and landscape professionals can employ.

Besides a concise overview of the statewide and local water planning and implications, she discussed and illustrated a number of basic principles useful for homeowners:

• Planning and Design
• Soil Analysis and Preparation
• Plant Selection
• Practical Turf Areas/Management
• Irrigation Efficiency
• Mulch
• Pest Control
• Rainwater Harvesting
• Rain Gardens

To view her Powerpoint presentation with notes, click here Water-Wise Strategies for HOAs.

To download a pdf of the presentation, click here.

Thanks to Dr. Dotty Woodson for allowing us to share her presentation on our CMA blog.

Extension Program Specialist-Water Resources

Biological and Agricultural Engineering

Horticulture Professional

Rainwater Harvesting Professional

Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension

Dallas, TX

Home Fire Is Biggest Disaster Threat

Did you know the biggest disaster threat in the United States isn’t floods, hurricanes or tornadoes; it’s fire.  Across the country, the American Red Cross responds to more than 60, 000 home fires every year, providing meals, shelter, comfort and support to help families get back on their feet.  

Fires not only destroy homes and personal belongings, but they also cause serious injury and death.  Home fires can happen to anyone, anywhere. In fact, seven times a day, a person dies in a home fire in the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association, and a fire-related injury is reported every 40 minutes.

Take these two simple steps to protect your home and increase your chances of surviving a fire:  

get a smoke alarm and create a fire escape plan.  

Learn more about home fire prevention at the Red Cross website.  You can download a Fire Safety Checklist and print out a home fire escape plan worksheet.

Saving Water at Home: In Your Kitchen and Bathroom

Watersaving tips courtesy of the David Weekley Homes newsletter.

Water is a limited resource, and it’s up to us to conserve and protect it as much as possible. Here are some tidbits of water wisdom you can incorporate into your everyday life, so we can all start making a difference.

In the Kitchen

• Use a high-efficiency dishwasher and consume less water than washing dishes by hand
• Only run your dishwasher with a full load; this saves water and energy
• Soak pots and pans rather than running water while scraping them
• An aerator on a kitchen faucet can reduce flow to less than one gallon per minute
• Don’t use running water to thaw frozen food; use the refrigerator
• Wash fruits and vegetables in a pan rather than running tap water over them
• Save the water from rinsing fruit and veggies to water house plants
• When ice cubes fall on the floor, drop them in a house plant instead of the sink

In the Bathroom

• Take a short shower instead of a bath; baths consume up to 70 gallons of water
• Cut your 10-minute shower to five and save 12.5 gallons with a low-flow showerhead – 25 gallons with a standard 5-gallon-per-minute showerhead
• Install a high-efficiency toilet and save up to 19 gallons per person per day
• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving and you’ll save up to 10 gallons per day
• Plug the sink to rinse your razor and save up to 300 gallons a month

Who said one person can’t make a difference? With putting some (or all) of these tips into action, we can all make a difference!