Water conservation

While water conservation in the home makes sense at any time, it’s especially apropos this summer when we’re experiencing unusually dry weather. Let’s take a look at some of the ways we can conserve.

Water conservation methods (as with other types of conservation) can be divided into two broad categories: hardware and habits.

In the hardware category, modern plumbing fixtures have been manufactured with water conservation in mind. For example, prior to 1980, toilets routinely used approximately five gallons of water per flush; faucets and showerheads during that time period frequently used five gallons per minute or more. Toilets manufactured since 1991, use 1.6 gallons per flush, while faucets and shower heads now use three gallons per minute.

If you have leaking faucets or fixtures, fix them. It’s amazing how much water can be wasted by a constantly dripping faucet or a toilet, plus drips or leaks benefit absolutely no one!

If you have older plumbing fixtures in your house, you might consider upgrading them. At the very least, as fixtures need replacement, replace them with modern, water conserving types.

In the habit category, minimize water usage wherever you can. For example, don’t use the “full” setting on the washing machine if you’re washing less than a full load of laundry. If you’re rinsing dishes, shut the water off between dishes until you’re ready to rinse the next dish. When taking a shower (or even washing your hands, for that matter), keep the volume of water turned down and get done as quickly as possible. Remember that even though modern faucets and shower heads have their flows reduced compared to the older fixtures, increasing the time of usage can negate any savings.

Be alert to other areas of wasted water. Remember, even small amounts of water wasted over a long period of time can result in a very large volume cumulatively.

So there you have it. Water conservation just makes sense—whether there’s a drought or not.