Conserving water in the United States is an increasing concern as the general population continues to exceed previous water usage. About 95 percent of the water entering your home each day exits again through the drains. Learn how to take action to stop such waste, whether by implementing new technologies to help reduce personal water waste or the many more options that rarely cost more than effort.
Toilet Trouble
Your toilet may use as many as 7 gallons of water per flush, and more than 25 percent of the water used by your household can be attributed to your toilet. If you’re in the habit of tossing a tissue in the toilet and giving it a cursory flush, remind yourself that many individuals of the world sustain themselves daily on the amount of water in that single flush. Checking your toilet for a leak is as easy as adding some food coloring to your tank; if you spot it in the bowl prior to a flush, it’s a sure sign of a leak. A single leaking toilet can waste over 10,000 gallons of water in a year, so a fix is crucial.
Washing Machine Waste
If this is not an option, you can still prevent as many as 1,000 wasted gallons of water per month by running the dishwasher only with full loads. Your clothes washer as well should ideally be run with full loads only; partial loads, if necessary, should only be filled with water to the level of the clothing. Upgrading to a front-loading machine and never using the extra-rinse permanent press cycle are other ways avoid water waste.
Running Water
There’s no need to leave water running while brushing your teeth, washing your face or shaving; you could individually be wasting 10 to 20 gallons of water each day from these combined activities. Turning off the faucet in the midst of these processes is ideal for saving water. The same is true for washing dishes or even rinsing vegetables, which can be done in a pan full of clean water instead of running water. You probably know to avoid long showers, but even a four-minute shower uses up to 40 gallons of water; turning off the faucet while you lather avoids much wasted water. Keep an eye on your faucets when not in use; a leak may seem like a minor inconvenience, but a drip of one drop per second will amount to 2,700 gallons of water wasted in a year.
Outside the House
Much of your household water waste occurs outside of the home. One hour of running your garden hose nearly equals the average daily amount of water used by a family of four, so turn off taps immediately after use. An estimated 50 percent of landscaping water is wasted due to evaporation and over-watering runoff. Avoid this in your own yard as easily as watering near sunrise or in the evening and taking care on sloped lawns to stop watering when any visible runoff occurs. Reuse water directly from other sources, like collected rainwater, to reduce plant-watering waste, or plant low-water plants which demand little irrigation and may save up to 550 gallons of water, per plant, each year.
Sources:
“Water Conservation Facts and Tips for Saving Water in the Bathroom, Kitchen, Lawn, and throughout the House,” Chili Pepper Appliance
“Ten Facts about the Water We Waste,” Chelsea Green Publishing
“Saving Energy,” California Energy Commission
“100 Ways To Conserve,” Water – Use It Wisely
“25 Ways to Conserve Water in the Home and Yard,” Eartheasy.com
“Water Use and Conservation Facts,” Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
