Did you know that a leaking toilet can waste up to 2,700 gallons of water a month? Have you checked your toilet lately?
Find out how your water use compares to average water use in our region.
Free workshop March 5 for landscape professionals that covers best management practices for designing, constructing and maintaining waterwise landscapes.
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Conserving water is good for the environment, for wildlife and for our future. And saving water isn’t difficult. All it takes is a little awareness and know-how to conserve hundreds of gallons of water each month — or even each week.
Just how important is water conservation? Consider these facts:
- A leaking toilet can waste up to 2,700 gallons of water a month
- Most gardens could thrive with 25%–40% less water
- One small leak from a faucet can waste 50 gallons of water a day
We've compiled these handy tips to help you save water throughout your home, both indoors and out.
Shower
- Shorten each shower by five minutes — you’ll save up to 25 gallons per shower.
- Install a low-flow showerhead, and you can save 12 gallons every five minutes.
- Collect water that runs until the shower gets hot, and use it to water plants.
Bathroom
- Save 18 gallons of water every time you take a bath by filling your bathtub halfway.
- Save more than 3 gallons every time you flush by installing a low-flow toilet.
- Avoid costly toilet leaks! Check out leak tips for ways to check for and fix leaks.
Sink
- Turn the water off while you’re using the sink — you’ll save up to 20 gallons per use.
- Replace older bathroom faucet nozzles (aerators) with new ones rated at 1.0 gallons per minute (gpm), or less. Aerators cost only a few dollars.
Dishwasher
- Install Energy Star-approved dishwashers, which can save an average of 5 gallons of water per load, or 792 gallons per year!
- Use a dishwasher. The average dishwasher uses about 10 gallons of water per load, compared to 16 gallons when washed by hand. Newer, efficient dishwashers are even better: They use as little as 5 gallons per cycle, which means they also consume less energy to heat the water.
- Wait to run your dishwasher until you have a full load.
- Run the dishwasher one less time per week to save an average of 10-15 gallons of water.
- Don't pre-rinse dishes. Most newer dishwashers don't require pre-rinsing.
Sink
- Re-use the water from washing your vegetables or boiling eggs to water your plants.
- Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the faucet to get cold water.
- Make sure your faucet has an aerator installed, which can save up to 13% in daily faucet water use.
- Avoid wasting water waiting for it to get hot. Capture it for other uses such as plant watering or heat it on the stove or in a microwave.
- Avoid using running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or use the defrost setting on your microwave oven.
- Garbage disposals require a lot of water to operate properly. Start a compost pile instead.
- Soak your pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them.
- When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.
Clothes Washer
- Install an Energy Star-approved washing machine. Average washers use up to 55 gallons of water per load, compared to as little as 20 gallons for Energy Star-approved models.
- Run the clothes washer one less time per week — you’ll save up 35 gallons of water.
- Save water by running the washer ONLY when you have a full load of laundry to do.
