Conservation Tips Offered:
Showering:
17% of home indoor residential use is tied to showering or as much as 40 gallons per day (gpd). Older, standard shower heads use 2.5 Gallons per Minute (gpm) or more. Newer, WaterSense labeled, shower heads use less than 2 gpm.
A WaterSense labeled shower head could save a residential user up to 2,900 gallons per year. Additionally, with lower use comes lower energy use which could lead to savings of 370 kilowatt hours over the course of a year.
Toilets:
Toilet flushing adds up to as much as 30 % of indoor residential use.
Older toilets can use as much as 6 gallons per flush. The current standard for newer toilets is 1.6 gallons per flush. Recent advancements have led to development of toilets that use as little as 1.28 gallons per flush.
Water Faucets:
A typical bathroom water faucet can use as much as 2.2 gpm. Newer, WaterSense labeled faucets use 1.5 gpm.
To save even more water, the next time you brush your teeth don’t leave the water running while brushing. Turn off the faucet until you’re ready to rinse. By following this procedure, a residential user could save as much a 3,000 gallons per year.
Outdoor Water Use:
Water plants, and if necessary, your lawn every other day and avoid over watering. Watering should be done in the evening or very early morning to allow the water to soak in to the ground. Watering during the day only allows for the water to evaporate and does very little for your plants.
Regarding sidewalk and driveway cleanups, sweep or use a blower. Hosing down a driveway or sidewalk is simply a waste of water.
Leaks:
One of the biggest wastes of water is due to home plumbing leakage. A running toilet, a dripping faucet or shower head could easily lead to 10,000 gallons of wasted water in years’ time. A little bit if maintenance can save a home owner quite a bit of money.
To check to see if you have in your home, first make sure all your faucets, shower heads and toilets are off. Then locate your water meter. On the head of your water meter you will see a small red or black triangle in the center of the meter head or there may be a water drop shaped indicator located just off center on the meter head.
If all your fixtures are off and the indicator is not spinning, then your plumbing is tight and not leaking. However, if the indicator is turning (even slightly) it is an indication of water use as low as 1/10th of a gallon per minute. A loss as low as 1/10th amounts to 144 gallons in one day and if left unattended would result in a quarterly water bill with an extra 12,960 gallons being charged to a customer.
To learn more about water saving tips visit the WaterSense web page at www.epa.gov/watersense.