Are you a water waster?
Much of the world gets by
on 2.5 gallons of water per day.
The average American uses 400 gallons per
day,
30% of which is for outdoor uses and half for watering lawns- 7 billion
gallons per day.
1.
No drips A dripping
faucet can waste 20 gallons of water a day. A leaking toilet can use
90,000 gallons of water in a month. Get out the wrench and change the washers
on your sinks and showers, or get new washerless faucets. Keeping your
existing equipment well maintained is probably the easiest and cheapest way to
start saving water.
2.
Install new fixtures New, low-volume
or dual
flush toilets, low-flow
showerheads , water-efficient dishwashers and clothes washing machines can
all save a great deal of water and money. Aerators on your faucets can
significantly reduce water volume; water-saving showerheads can cut the volume
of water used down to 1.2 gallons per minute or less, and some even have a
“pause button” to let you stop the water while soaping up or shampooing.
Our interns recently
pointed out that “spending about $30 on low-flow showerheads and faucets
is estimated to save 45 gallons of that 260 gallons of water [used in a
typical household per day], almost 18% of your usage. Splurging on a low-flow
toilet could save another 50-80 gallons of water a day. Together, those
changes nearly cut in half the household's daily use, saving a considerable
amount of water – and passing that savings on to your water bill, as well as
your water heating bill.”
3.
Cultivate good water
habits All the water that goes down the drain, clean or dirty, ends
up mixing with raw sewage, getting contaminated, and meeting the same fate.
Try to stay aware of this precious resource disappearing and turn off the
water while brushing your teeth or shaving and always wash laundry and dishes
with full loads. When washing dishes by hand, fill up the sink and turn off
the water. Take shorter showers or, as the old joke goes, shower with a
friend: Treehugger
TV shows you how. To put things in perspective, take a quick look at your
next water bill when it arrives. It probably won’t be costing you too much,
but the average household consumes multiple thousands of gallons each month.
See if you can make this number go down. If you’re the graphing type, go
nuts.
4.
Stay off the bottle By many measures, bottled water is a scam. In most
first-world countries, the tap water is provided by a government utility and
is tested regularly. (You can look up your water in the National
Tap Water Quality Database) Taste tests have
shown that in many municipalities, tap water actually tastes better.
Bottled water is not as well regulated and studies have shown that it is not
even particularly pure. A
four-year study of bottled water in the U.S. conducted by NRDC found that
one-fifth of the 103 water products tested contained synthetic organic
chemicals such as the neurotoxin xylene and the possible carcinogen and
neurotoxin styrene. (Grist)
Much bottled water doesn’t come from a “Artesian springs” and is just
tap water anyhow. (Coca-Cola
adds salt to its Dasani water to make it taste better, just like fast
food.) Not only is it more expensive per gallon than gasoline, bottled water
incurs a huge carbon footprint from its transportation, and the
discarded bottles are a blight. It’s no wonder that some
people even think it’s a sin. If you want to carry your water with you,
get a bottle and fill it. (Look here
for some advise on durable, non-toxic container options.) If your water at
home tastes funny, try an activated
charcoal or ceramic filter. Here
is a comparison of home-use water filters from Grist.
5.
Go beyond the lawn Naturalize it using locally
appropriate plants that are hardy and don’t need a lot of water. If you
have to water, do it during the coolest part of the day or at night to
minimize evaporation. Here
is a useful calculator to figure out landscape water use. Xeriscaping is a
method of landscaping that utilizes only native and low water plants. It is an
especially appropriate approach for states like
6.
Harvest your rainwater Put a rain barrel on your downspouts and use this water for
irrigation. Rain cisterns come in all shapes and sizes ranging from larger
underground systems to smaller, freestanding ones. Some
even glow!
7.
Harvest your greywater Water that has been used at least once but is still clean enough
for other jobs is called greywater. Water from sinks, showers, dishwashers,
and clothes washers are the most common household examples. (Toilet water is
often called “blackwater” and needs a different level of treatment before
it can be reused.) Greywater can be recycled with practical plumbing systems
like the Aqus,
or with simple practices such as emptying the fish tank in the garden instead
of the sink. The bottom line? One way or another, avoid putting water down the
drain when you can use it for something else.
8.
At the car wash Car washes are often more efficient than home washing and treat
their water rather than letting it straight into the sewer system. But check
to make sure that they clean and recycle the water. Better yet, try the waterless
car wash. If you live in
9.
Keep your eyes open Report broken pipes, open hydrants, and excessive waste. Don’t
be shy about pointing out leaks to your friends and family members, either.
They might have tuned out the dripping sound a long time ago.
10.
Don’t spike the punch Water sources have to be protected. In many closed loop systems
like those in cities around the Great Lakes, waste water is returned to the