How
To Conserve water
Did you know... A slow
drip from a leaky faucet wastes 15 to 20 gallons of water
a day!?
It is everyone's job to help
conserve water. Just using a few simple ideas can save many
gallons of water every day. Multiply that by the number of
people in your family, the number of families in your city,
and the number of cities throughout the nation.
Water Saving Devices
-
Toilet
Install a lower volume toilet which use fewer gallons
per flush. A displacement device in the toilet will also
save water.
-
Shower
After the toilet, the shower is the heaviest water user
in the home, accounting for about 30% of the total household
water consumption. A reduced shower head flow rate is
a very practical way to reduce water consumption during
bathing, without sacrificing user satisfaction. Water
consumption in the tub and shower can also simply be cut
by taking shorter showers (a shower uses 5 gallons per
minute) and by not filling the tub as full.
-
Faucets
Faucets also use 5 gallons a minute. Five percent of all
domestic water consumption runs from the lavatory faucet
into its sink, and eventually down into the sewer. Although
it may not seem like much, a bathroom faucet can easily
draw more than 2500 gallons of water per year. Reduced
faucet flow rates can still reduce overall domestic water
consumption, water heating demands, and wastewater treatment
loads. Don't leave the faucet running while brushing teeth
or shaving.
-
Washer
Automatic clothes washing machines account for about 20%
of the total volume of water consumed in residents where
they are found. Savings in water usage for these devices
may come from different loading positions, suds-saver
options, water level settings, and design. Front-loading
machines use between 20 and 33 gallons of water per cycle,
while top-loading machines may use 35 to 55 gallons. For
the most common wash cycle (permanent press), a front-loader
will use about half the water, half the hot water, and
one third of the detergent of a top-loader! Washing machines
which use the suds-saver system store the wash water and
suds either in an adjacent service sink, or within the
unit itself to be used during the second wash cycle. This
system not only conserves water and energy by reusing
the hot water, but it will save on detergent too! In almost
all new washing machines, the water level can be adjusted
to fit the size of the wash load. Simply by adjusting
the water level to correspond to the load size may easily
save as much as 12 gallons per week, especially if many
smaller loads are washed!
- Dishwashers
Dishwashing in the United States accounts for as much as
5% of the total domestic water volume consumed. Typical
non-conserving machines can use from 13 to 25 gallons of
water per day. Today's high efficiency models use only 9.5
to 12 gallons per load, while cleaning as effectively. To
save water, be sure to load the machine to capacity! Air
drying, instead of heated drying, will save energy. When
selecting a new machine, choose a model that is energy and
water-efficient. When washing dishes by hand, wash with
sudsy water in one compartment of the sink, and rinse with
fresh water in the other. Do not let the tap run constantly!
If your sink has only one compartment, buy a 2-compartment
rubber divider!
Water Pressure Reduction
System water pressure is a major factor in
determining flow rates. Normal home water pressures may
vary between 20 and 80 psi, with 50 or 60 being about average.
High water pressure (75 to 90 psi) can greatly increase
the flow rate for the same faucet or shower head. Greater
pressure forces more water through an opening of a given
size. Pressure reducing valves deliver water to the household
at a more usable pressure. Water savings of water and hot
water from shower heads and faucets may be much larger!
Metering Water Usage
Metering household water consumption and
basing the bill upon actual use has proven a fair and effective
way to encourage water conservation. The water meter is
a flow measuring device that is placed between the city's
water main and the building (home) main. It can be placed
either outside the building in a manhole, or inside the
house near the entry point. Wherever you find them, water
meters encourage the consumer to save water. Metered households
normally use about 28 percent less water than un metered
households paying according to a flat rate.
Leak Detection and repair
The American Water Works Association has a
simple Drip
Calculator online to measure and estimate your
water wasted due to leaks.
-
Pipes
Pipe leaks can waste tremendous amounts of water, especially
if they are hidden. Even a small drip in a gravel-bottomed
crawl space could waste thousands of gallons in a year
-- and go totally undetected. A hot water leak would be
even more wasteful and expensive, since energy is needed
to heat the water. All leaks, large or small, should be
fixed immediately.
-
Toilets
Toilets are already the biggest users of water in the
home. About 20 percent of all American toilets leak. “Quiet”
leaks can double a family's total water consumption, and
ruin a septic tank/drain field system. A toilet tank may
leak water into the bowl. Eventually tank water levels
will fall enough to lower the tank ball and cause the
tank to be "topped off" with more fresh water.
Clean potable water may pour down the sewer for weeks,
months or years! This whole process can be very quiet
and very wasteful. Correcting it can save you large amounts
of money. One simple test that you can do with leak detection
tablets or food coloring can show whether your toilet
is leaking. When placed in the toilet tank, the leak detection
tablet will gradually turn the water green. The toilet
is then allowed to sit for at least 30 minutes, or if
possible, overnight. If the water in the bowl has changed
color even slightly, the toilet tank is leaking water
and should be repaired immediately! If you have a conventional
toilet, this might be a good time to replace it with an
ultra-low flow or water-saving toilet. Leaky faucets,
like the toilet, can waste tremendous quantities of water
per year.
-
Faucets
Faucet repairs generally consist of replacing internal
seat washers. If any of your faucets are leaking, fix
them, or have them fixed immediately. Water, and fuel
savings will outweigh the expenses incurred to stop the
leak.
Outside The Home
-
Lawn
Don't over water your lawn. Only water every three to
five days in the summer and 10 to 14 days in the winter.
To prevent water loss from evaporation, don't water your
lawn during the hottest part of the day or when it is
windy. Maintain a lawn height of 2 1/2 to 3 inches to
help protect the roots from heat stress and reduce the
loss of moisture to evaporation. Avoid planting turf in
areas that are difficult to irrigate properly such as
steep inclines and isolated strips along sidewalks and
driveways. Aerate clay soils at least once a year to help
the soil retain moisture. Promote deep root growth through
a combination of proper watering, aerating, appropriate
fertilization, thatch (grass clippings) control, and attention
to lawn height. A lawn with deep roots requires less water
and is more resistant to drought and disease.
-
Garden
Mulch around plants, bushes and trees to help the soil
retain moisture, discourage the growth of weeds, and provide
essential nutrients. Plant in the spring or fall, when
watering requirements are lower. When choosing plants,
keep in mind that smaller ones require less water to become
established. Collect rain water in a barrel and use it
to water your garden (please note, this is not a legal
practice in all areas).
-
Around The Yard
Use porous materials for walkways and patios to keep water
in your yard and prevent wasteful runoff. Use a broom,
rather than a hose, to clean sidewalks and driveways.
If you have a swimming pool, get a cover. You'll cut the
loss of water by evaporation by 90 percent.
As shown at EPA.gov and AWWA.org
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