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.
Ever wonder just how much water your lawn and other plants need each week? From March - October, the Consortium publishes a weekly watering number each Thursday.
As the need for water conservation has become more important to consumers, the marketplace has responded with plenty of options for the water-smart buyer. If your home is older than 1992, chances are you have high-water-use fixtures. Replace these older fixtures to save energy, money and water — up to 30% on indoor water use alone.
Low Flow and High Efficiency Toilets
Whether remodeling a bathroom, starting construction of a new home, or simply replacing an old, leaky toilet that is wasting money and water you may want to consider installing a low flow or high efficiency toilet (HET).
Older toilets can use anywhere from 3.5–7 gallons per flush. Ultra-low-flow toilets (ULFTs) use only 1.6 gallons per flush, delivering a water savings of more than 50% while functioning the same or better than non-ULF toilets.
New HET go beyond the federal standard of 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) by using 1.3 gpf, and are certified through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Watersense program which uses a third party to test the toilets for both performance and efficiency.
Unlike first generation “low-flow” toilets, design advances enable WaterSense labeled HETs to save water with no trade-off in flushing power. In fact, many perform better than standard toilets in consumer testing.
If every home in the United States replaced one old toilet with a new HET, we would save more than 900 billion gallons of water per year, equal to more than two weeks of flow over Niagara Falls!
Low-flow Showerheads
Showers account for up to half of a home’s hot water use. With low-flow showerheads, you can continue to enjoy an invigorating shower and still save water and energy. That means lower water and energy bills! Low-flow showerheads increase water velocity while dispersing it into many tiny droplets, so you still get a brisk shower with less water.
Faucet Aerators
Older faucets typically use 5–7 gallons per minute. Newer faucets required by law in new construction use about 2.5 gallons per minute. Any of these kitchen or bathroom faucets can be replaced with inexpensive, low-flow faucet aerators that mix air with the water to make an effective spray pattern while still saving significantly on water use.
High-efficiency Washing Machines
A typical household does nearly 400 loads of laundry a year. With a new high-efficiency washing machine, all those loads require up to 60% less water and 40% to 50% less energy. These new washing machines are front-loading and fill only partially, rotating the clothes through the water. These models use less than half the amount of water as conventional washers, and save energy by heating less water and spinning your clothes more efficiently so they have less moisture going into the dryer.
Make sure to check out the State of Oregon Residential Energy Tax Credit program. Qualified new washing machines result in tax credits of $120 to $210, depending on the model. For more information about a list of models that qualify for tax credits, visit the State Office of Energy Web site at www.energy.state.or.us. Some water providers also offer rebates.
We recommend the following Web sites for information and links to numerous other resources.
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