SAN MARCOS -- Residents of La Moree Estates mobile-home park are reaping the financial benefits of a year-long water conservation effort that trimmed the park's annual water use by more than 1 million gallons.

Marvyn Wald, a board member for the La Moree Estates Homeowners Association, said Wednesday that it recently learned the park's water use had gone from more than 6.5 million gallons in 2007 to less than 5.2 million gallons in 2008.

The 1.4 million-gallon difference translates to a financial savings of $1,000 to $1,200 a month, he said.

"It doesn't sound like that much until you add it up for the year," Wald said. "Water is expensive."

Built in 1977, the 122-space park has a single water meter that serves all its residents, with the association getting the bill each month.

Recent years saw the organization spending about $36,000 annually on water from the Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District in Escondido, Wald said.

When the district announced plans to raise water rates by 9 percent, he said, the association's board felt it needed to act.

Residents soon found themselves inundated with water-related facts and tips for saving water, via a quarterly newsletter and an in-park television channel.

The association also gave each household $50 to help cover the cost of installing low-flow toilets and got a local manufacturer to give residents free low-flow shower heads and aerators.

Residents who had trouble getting out to get new toilets were given rides. Board members also helped people fill out the paperwork for $75 San Diego County Water Authority rebates for their new toilets.

Other efforts included adjusting watering for shared landscaping and knocking on the doors of residents who let their own irrigation water run down the street or openly wasted water in other ways, Wald said, adding that the campaign wasn't always easy.

"We've got tons of people here in their 70s and 80s and even 90s," he said. "And a lot of the people here, they don't want to change anything."

Warned their monthly association fees might have to be raised if the campaign was unsuccessful, though, most people joined the effort, Wald said.

Park resident and association board member Sue Travers said saving water wasn't all that hard once residents understood how certain habits or practices can waste water.

"We started (taking) Navy showers, running the dishwater only when it's full and so on," she said. "It was a real big push, and everybody was very conscientious."

Rincon Water District spokeswoman and water conservationist Julia Escamilla said water officials plan to reward La Moree Estates residents by providing a landscaping expert who can help the association figure out how to replace water-thirsty plants with drought-tolerant ones.

"It's an incentive for them to keep on being out there in the front and working on this," said Escamilla, who described the park's achievement as "a huge deal."

Wald said association board members would like to see other resident groups launch their own water conservation campaigns.

"We're hoping this will entice some other mobile-home parks or associations to say, 'hey, if they can do it, we can do it,' " he said. "A little challenge of sorts, you see."

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.