Water conservation has been a hot topic in the Southland for as long as I can remember. There’s never a bad time to share water conservation tips and we especially like the ones that save energy and reduce our monthly utility bills.
Become a part of Southern California’s proactive water conservation solution instead of a passive part of the problem. It’s painless, easy and the benefits of saving money, energy and helping our environment are nothing to sneeze at.
Simple Tips for Saving Water, Energy & Money
You might think that saving a little here and there doesn’t add up to much, but you’d be wrong. Every drop does count and lots of little savings adds up to lots of big benefits for our wallets and Mother Nature. Showers are responsible for 18% of all indoor water use in the United States. A recent study estimates that American’s use over 300 billion gallons of water each day.
That’s 250 gallons per person, per day for every person in America. Help conserve our limited natural resources by using any of the following methods to reduce your water usage while lowering your monthly utility bill.
Say Goodbye to Old Water Wasting Shower-heads & Faucets
Simply changing your current shower head to a high performance energy efficient model shower head can reduce your shower’s water use by up to 60%. Older model shower heads use between 4-5 gallons per minute while newer energy efficient use only 1-1.5 gallons per minute without a significant reduction in water pressure.
Another simple way to reduce your water usage is by installing newer more efficient faucets in your high use areas. These faucets use about 1.5 gallons of water per minute compared with a standard faucet which uses 3-5 gallons per minute.
In fact, the EPA states that simply adding pressure reducing valves or aerators to your existing faucet, set to reduce pressure by half, can reduce water consumption by 1/3 and aerators that are added directly to faucets can reduce water use by up to 60% without having any effect on your water pressure.
Replace Old Water Wasting Toilets
The average toilet uses 5.0+ gallons of water per flush, but you can reduce your water usage per toilet by as much as 34% by replacing your old conventional toilet with a new low flow toilet that uses 1.28 gallons per flush.
New energy efficient and water conserving toilets aren’t cheap, but there are some extremely cheap alternatives that offer water conservation with cost savings as well. One of the most practical methods is to simply place a heavily weighted object, such as a brick or plastic container filled with rocks, in your toilet tank. The brick or rocks displace the water in your toilet’s tank and it takes less water to fill it.
Save Water, Energy & Money Indoors
- Select the proper size pans for cooking. Large pans require more cooking water than may be necessary.Water Use Pie Chart
- Make sure there are aerators on all of your faucets. Install an instant water heater on your kitchen sink so you don’t have to let the water run while it heats up. This will also reduce heating costs for your household.
- Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap for cold drinks, so that every drop goes down you not the drain.
- Don’t use running water to thaw food.
- Thaw your food in the refrigerator and especially if it’s beef, fish or poultry.
- When you clean your fish tank, use the water you’ve drained on your plants. The water is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, providing you with a free and effective fertilizer.
- Time your shower to keep it under 5 minutes and you’ll save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
- Run dishwashers and washing machines on the light load setting and only run them with full loads. Note that this will also save money on your electric bill.
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
Save Water, Energy & Money Outdoors
- Sweep leaves and other debris off driveways and walkways instead of hosing.
- Install outside rain catcher systems to irrigate your landscaping.
- Use drip line watering in your flower beds and get less waste due to evaporation.
- Avoid watering during the hottest periods of the day to prevent loss through evaporation.
- Use slow release or low-concentration fertilizer and you shouldn’t over fertilize.
- Mulch, Mulch and More Mulch! Use bark chips to help retain water and moisture on flower beds to hold moisture more effectively. Mulch should be 2-4 inches deep which helps with soil temperature, weed control and improves water penetration.
