Pardee Homes WaterSmart Measures Help New Home Buyers Save Two Precious Resources--H2O and The Family Budget

    LOS ANGELES, CA, April 16, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Water uncertainties throughout the Southwest make the challenge clear: how to stretch available supplies while ensuring that people and places have the water they need to thrive. In California and Nevada, Pardee Homes is contributing to this critical goal with homes, yards and communities designed to save water--and practical, understandable education for homeowners, associations and subcontractors.

It's all part of green commitments the company initiated more than a decade ago with the pioneering of EnergyStar homes. From that start, the company has introduced far more comprehensive resource conservation and new home performance measures with its LivingSmart program. Components are grouped by what they do: EnergySmart, EarthSmart, WaterSmart and Health Smart organize the more than 30 included and optional features of new homes from Pardee Homes.

"LivingSmart can help buyers lower their home operating costs, and everyone appreciates the savings," said Joyce Mason, vice president of marketing for Pardee Homes. "Just as important are its contributions to resource conservation, and water is certainly the most precious resource for us all."

Pardee Homes is celebrating its green achievements with special Earth Month activities and outreach throughout the month of April. And every month, Pardee homeowners can be proud that their homes are designed to conserve natural resources--like water--for the long term.

In your home--Simple improvements can go a long way. For example: the lower flow showerheads that Pardee Homes installs as standard maintain desired water pressure, while dramatically cutting usage. "If every American household installed these, we could save over 60 billion gallons of water annually," said Mason. "And of course, lower consumption can lower the bill."

The same applies to low flush toilets Pardee specifies for its new homes. They incorporate state-of-the art technology and use far less water than conventional models. EnergyStar appliances, such as Pardee's choices for dishwashers and clothes washers, further trim home water consumption.

In your yard--With landscaping accounting for a whopping 57 percent of total household water use*, drought tolerant landscaping offers an important--and attractive--way to reduce that total. It's also easy to maintain, particularly with smart controllers that schedule water release in response to weather conditions. They're part of drip irrigation systems Pardee provides with front yard landscaping.

In your neighborhood--reducing water use in the larger community is part of Pardee Homes' commitment to more sustainable planning concepts. For example, site-sensitive landscaping in the company's master-planned communities utilizes native trees, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers, saving water and reducing the use of chemicals to establish and maintain landscape.

This eco-friendly approach also reduces long-term environmental costs, because native plants offer effective erosion control and act as natural slope stabilizers. Native flowering plants attract local songbirds and butterflies, which maintain the plants' natural reproduction and control pest insects without man's use of fertilizers, insecticides, and other chemicals.

Education and teamwork are vital to successful water conservation. As it pursues more and better ways to "go green", Pardee Homes collaborates with leading professional and government associations and organizations. The company provides education and resources to its homeowners regarding green features of their homes and tips on additional steps they can take to be more resource efficient.

"California and Nevada have done much on regional and local levels to manage our vital water supplies and to educate us all about better ways to conserve water," said McGee, president and CEO of Pardee Homes. "At Pardee Homes, we are proud to share these goals and to pursue water-savings in our new homes and landscaping, and in our master-planned communities.

"Saving money, promoting health, improving comfort and using resources efficiently are all part of green living," McGee added. "These benefits continue to inspire our commitment to LivingSmart, and to new enhancements to this program as green and sustainable development continues to evolve."

To date, Pardee Homes has brought more than 3,500 LivingSmart homes to its markets in Southern California and Nevada, winning awards and recognition from the National Association of Home Builders; Green Builder Awards; the U.S. EPA and DOE; California's Office of the Governor; the California Building Industry Association; the Nevada Energy Task Force Renewable and Conservation Commission; and Southern Nevada Water Authority. Learn more at www.pardeehomes.com and see Living Green on the home page. Visit Pardee's Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/PardeeHomes

*"Water Use in the California Residential Home," prepared for the California Homebuilding Foundation by ConSol, a nationally recognized consultant on energy solutions for production single-family and multifamily builders.

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