Water Conservation Tips

Below are some tips on how you can conserve water at home to help reach that goal:

• When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.
• Run your washing machine and dishwasher only when they are full and you could save 1000 gallons a month.
• Catch water in a pitcher while you are waiting for it to get hot. Save the water to make lemonade, put water in your pet’s bowl, or use to water your plants.
• Wash your produce in the sink or a pan that is partially filled with water instead of running water from the tap. Then use that water to water your plants.
• Grab a wrench and fix that leaky faucet. It's simple, inexpensive, and can save 140 gallons a week.
• Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and save 4 gallons a minute. That's 200 gallons a week for a family of four.
• Cut back on rinsing if your dishwasher is new. Newer models clean more thoroughly than older ones.
• Insulate hot water pipes so you don't have to run as much water to get hot water to the faucet.
• If your toilet was installed prior to 1980, place a toilet dam or bottle filled with water in your toilet tank to cut down on the amount of water used for each flush. Be sure these devices do not interfere with operating parts.
• Turn the water off while you shave, shampoo, and condition your hair and you can save more than 50 gallons a week.
• Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl, you have a leak. It's easy to fix, and you can save more than 600 gallons a month.
• 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.
• Plug the bathtub before turning the water on, then adjust the temperature as the tub fills up.
• Direct downspouts and other runoff towards shrubs and trees, or collect and use for your garden.

For more water conservation tips, please visit www.wateruseitwisely.com

Tip of the Day

Keep a bucket or pitcher handy in each shower and at the kitchen sink wherever you typically run water waiting on it to get hot before you use it and catch that clean water that would have just been going down the drain in that container. Then you wont have to run more water just to fill the pasta pot or the dogs water bowl.