Who are Salem’s biggest residential water guzzlers?

Unsurprisingly, they’re some of the city’s wealthiest and most prominent residents, with big houses, expansive properties, extensive plantings and pools. Here’s the list (yearly bill is for water only; the city charges other fees):

#16

Water used: 600,644

Homeowner: David and Laura Kruss

Address: 720 Kingwood Drive NW

Yearly water bill: $2,072

The Krusses bought their home a little over a year ago. The 2,358-square-foot house was built in 1956 and sits on a third of an acre with a large perennial garden.

After going through a complete growing cycle, the couple is now preparing to revamp their watering system, Laura Kruss said.

“Both from a conservation perspective and certainly for the cost, we are in the process of reviewing the watering schedule, both duration and amount, and replacing everything that leaks,” she said. “We don’t want to use any more water than we have to.”

#15

Water used: 614,856 gallons

Homeowner: Derek and Julia Sadowski

Address: 567 High St. SE

Yearly water bill: $2,121

The Sadowskis bought this spectacular five-bedroom Spanish Colonial estate at the top of Gaiety Hill in April 2014, and live there with their two young boys. They are slowly restoring the home, which is on the Historic Register.

The 6,667-square-foot house was built in 1928 and sits on a 0.63-acre lot. It has six bathrooms with original fixtures.

“You’re not dealing with plumbing that’s modern,” Derek Sadowski said.

The couple so far has installed low-flow, high-efficiency showerheads in three bathrooms.

The property also contains perhaps the most historically correct garden designed by the Salem landscape firm of Lord and Schryver, Sadowski said.

“The Conservancy expects them to be maintained. However, the cost is a burden,” he said.

So far, they’ve rebuilt all five garden fountains, installing recirculating pumps and sealing leaky bases. And they are working with the city to install a separate irrigation meter – at no small cost to the homeowner – to reduce the fees associated with water use.

“To address it from an environmental standpoint is high on our list, but also from an economic standpoint for our family,” Sadowski said. “We’re tackling it.”

#14

Water used: 615,604 gallons

Homeowner: Rod and Teresa Carey

Address: 675 Winding Way SE

Yearly water bill: $2,123

This 2,128-square-foot-house, built in 1953, sits on a 0.84-acre lot. The Careys purchased the home in September 2009.

They did not respond to a request for an interview.

#13

Water used: 635,052 gallons

Homeowner: Scott and Angela Cantonwine

Address: 477 Washington St. S

Yearly water bill: $2,190

Scott Cantonwine is president and CEO of Salem-based Cascade Warehouse Company; Angela Cantonwine is the company’s chief financial officer.

Their 5,187-square-foot-house, built in 1940, sits on a 0.36-acre lot. They did not respond to a request for an interview.

#12

Water used: 672,452 gallons

Homeowner: Paul Ferder

Address: 1525 Acacia Drive S

Yearly water bill: $2,319

This 3,900-square-foot-house, built in 1974, sits on a 0.34-acre lot.

Ferder, a Salem defense attorney, could not be reached for comment.

#11

Water used: 687,412 gallons

Homeowner: George Goesch

Address: 2741 Front St. NE

Yearly water bill: $2,371

This 3,178 square-foot-house, built in 1930, sits on 0.82 acre. Goesch, a State Farm insurance agent, purchased the home in 2003. It's currently for sale.

Goesch did not respond to requests for an interview.

#10

Water used: 699,380 gallons

Homeowner: Clark and Kathleen Thompson

Address: 1225 Acacia Drive S

Yearly water bill: $2,412

Clark Thompson, a Salem otolaryngologist, and his wife own this 11,192-square-foot home, on 1.22 acre, built in 1970.

The property comprises five city lots, and three of them don’t get watered at all, Kathleen Thompson said.

“We let them brown up, and have for years,” she said. On the rest of the property though, she said, “unfortunately we have a lot of ornamentals that we have to water. It’s a big problem.”

#9

Water used: 713,592 gallons

Homeowner: Linda and Charles Parker

Address: 2155 Reed Court SE

Yearly water bill: $2,461

This 1,796-square-foot home sits on 0.23 acre. Charles Parker, a mechanic, and Linda Parker, an accountant, did not respond to a request for an interview.

#8

Water used: 726,308 gallons

Homeowner: Zahidul Siddique and Srabonti Hasque

Address: 502 Sussex Ave. SE

Yearly water bill: $2,505

Siddique, an Oregon Department of Transportation highway safety engineer, and Hasque purchased this 2,604-square-foot home on 0.33 acres in 2012.

Hasque was surprised to learn her home made the list. She has a large yard and waters every other day, she said, and she runs her washing machine every day.

“Maybe that’s the reason,” she said.

#7

Water used: 771,188 gallons

Homeowner: Jeffrey and Samantha Jones

Address: 3906 Corredale Drive S

Yearly water bill: $2,660

Salem attorney Jeffrey Jones and his wife built their 8,263-square-foot house on a nearly 5-acre property in 2013.

They did not respond to a request for an interview.

#6

Water used: 927,520 gallons

Homeowner: Michael and Alix Truax

Address: 560 Washington St. S

Yearly water bill: $3,199

This 7,221-square-foot-house, built in 2005, sits on a half-acre lot in the Fairmount neighborhood and includes a putting green.

Alix Truax was surprised to hear her home was among the city’s top residential water users. But, she said, “We had a sprinkler system that was inoperable. It was a nightmare. We had gushers.”

The couple recently replaced the sprinklers with a drip system. “By next year, it should be a lot less,” she said.

#5

Water used: 1,449,624 gallons

Homeowner: Bob and Pamela Smith

Address: 3136 River Road S

Yearly water bill: $5,000

Bob Smith cofounded VIPS Industries, holding company of the Phoenix Inn Suites hotel chain. The Smiths’ 11,465-square-foot house, built in 1995, sits on a 5.38-acre property. The Smiths did not respond to a request for an interview.

#4

Water used: 1,887,952 gallons

Homeowner: John and Marise Morrow

Address: 1355 Copper Glen Drive SE

Yearly water bill: $6,512

John Morrow is chairman of the board of Salem-based Morrow Equipment Company. The Morrows’ 11,189-square foot house sits on nearly two acres. The Morrows did not respond to a request for an interview.

#3

Water used: 2,149,004 gallons

Homeowner: David and Laura Daniels

Address: 955 Barkstone Court SE

Yearly water bill: $7,412

The Danielses’ 9,150-square-foot house, built in 1971, sits on 2.78 acres. David Daniels, president of Brooks-based May Trucking Company, declined an interview.

#2

Water used: 6,910,024 gallons

Homeowner: Bob and Debbie Boss

Address: 3820 Cheviot Way S.

Yearly water bill: $23,834

Bob Boss is president of the Boss Enterprises chain of Burger King restaurants. The Bosses built their 4,490-square-foot house on just over 5 acres in 1998. They did not respond to a request for an interview.

#1

Water used: 7,144,896 gallons

Homeowner: Marvin Babb

Address: 538 Statesman St. NE

Yearly water bill: $24,644

Take this one with a grain of salt.

Babb could not be reached for comment, but it’s possible this astounding water use was due to a leak, as city data show that 99.8 percent of that water was used during one month.

Babb’s 1,400-square-foot home was built in 1890 and sits on a tiny lot of a little more than a tenth of an acre.

City of Salem officials declined to say whether Babb or other customers on this list reported a leak. Producing a list of leaks reported over the past year would take three hours and cost the newspaper $240, the city said in response to the Statesman Journal's request for that information under Oregon's public records law.