Our Environment

Water conservation is very important. With the entire globe going green lately, it is very important to know what you can do to help conserve water in your home.

1. The first thing to do is to check your home for any water leaks. Read your water meter and note the results. Then wait two hours, without running any water, and read and note the results again. If the meter does not hold the same numbers, then you have a water leak, and it should be repaired immediately.

2. Do not flush unless you need to. Each time you flush your toilet, you are using five to seven gallons of water. If you are simply putting out cigarettes or throwing facial tissues into the toilet, wait to flush until it’s needed, or better yet, use a wastebasket for these items.

3. Using plastic bottles in your toilet tank can help you to save two to three gallons each flush. Put an inch of sand or small pebbles into two plastic bottles, then fill the bottles with water. Replace the lids and place these bottles in each of your toilet tanks. This helps your toilet to work like a low flush toilet, saving gallons of water each day.

4. You should also consider shortening your shower time. A four minute shower uses more than 20 gallons of water, so if you take a 15 minute shower, then you are wasting hundreds of gallons of water each week. Shorten your shower time to just enough to get the job done.

5. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Letting the water run while you are brushing your teeth is very wasteful. Turn on the water just long enough to wet and rinse your brush, and fill a glass with water for rinsing.

6. Never wash partial loads. When filling up your washing machine, or your dishwasher for that matter, always make sure that you have a full load. Washing a full load saves water over washing several partial loads. If you do not have enough to fill it, then wait until you do.

7. On the other hand, if you wash you dishes by hand, then be sure to keep the water turned off until you need it. Fill an extra sink with water for rinsing, or wash a sink full first, and then spray them off to rinse.

8. Keep drinking water on hand. Letting your faucet run to make water cold to drink is very wasteful. It is a much better practice to keep bottles of water in the refrigerator for drinking purposes.

9. Only water your lawn if it really needs it. Chances are, your lawn does not need watered as much as you think. Only when it does not spring back after being stepped on does it really need watered. Otherwise, wait for rain.

10. Finally, if you wash your car at home, be sure to keep the hose turned off until you need it. While washing, turn off the hose and turn it back of for rinsing.

You will be surprised how much water is saved by following just these few tips every day.