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Go Green: Water Conservation Tips
Compiled by J. Maury Harris
Think Globally, Act Locally…
Each day an estimated 6,000 children die of diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene — the equivalent to 20 jumbo jets crashing. While clean water isn’t an issue locally, our resources are prone to depletion. If they weren’t we wouldn’t be talking about importing water to fill a lake.
In just 30 years, water demand has tripled in the United States, while the population has grown just 50 percent. Beyond our own borders, water consumption is now doubling every 20 years — more than twice population growth. This crunch signals a scary scenario where water could become the "petroleum for the next century," as Goldman Sachs predicted earlier this year. So, while clean water may seem abundant now, sustaining its future affordability rests on us.
The problem is that water is often perceived as endless — a constant in our daily lives. Thus, changing our behavior requires a concerted, conscious effort. Organizing cooperative efforts work internationally, as with the Center for Global Safe Water at Emory, but will also prove effective locally. So try to keep abreast of local water policy and, at the least, print and implement as many of these tips we’ve collected.
Turn it off:
The average bathroom faucet spouts two gallons per minute. Turning it off while brushing your teeth can save up to eight gallons of water per day, 240 a month, and 2,880 a year.
For every gallon an average Georgia household uses directly, it uses another three gallons to generate electrical power. So turn off your lights and reduce your vampire energy (estimated to cost U.S. consumers $3 billion a year) whenever possible.
Full loads only:
Use the appropriate load size selection when washing clothes, but also wash only full loads if possible.
Hand-wash your dishes. Fill one sink with soapy water and one sink with rinse water. If you have to use your dishwasher, make sure it is full before running it.
Don't flush money down the drain:
Toilets made before 1993 are inefficient and use at least 3.5 gallons per flush. New, high-efficiency models use less than 1.3 gallons per flush.
Installing a new toilet can save a family of four more than $90 annually, $2,000 over the lifetime of the toilet.
Recycle your top-loading washing machine for a more efficient front-loading model. Top-loading machines can use as much as 40 gallons per wash, while front-loading models use less than 20.
Empower your shower:
Taking a five-minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons of water.
Water saving showerheads reduce water flow, or you could take a "Navy" shower. Rinse, turn water off, soap up, turn water on and rinse again.
Baths are bad. A full bathtub requires roughly 70 gallons of water. If you must, plug the drain immediately and adjust the temperature as you fill the tub to limit waste.
Fix leaks:
http://www.conservewatergeorgia.net/documents/waterSense.html Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak.
Faucets dripping at a rate of one drop per second waste more than 3,000 gallons of water per year.
Toilets leaking at a rate of 200 gallons a day can waste up to 73,050 gallons of water a year.
To see if you have a leaking toilet, place a drop of food coloring in the tank. If the color shows in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak.
If it is leaking, replace the flap mechanism inside the tank for an easy fix that can save gallons of water each week – and reduce your water bill.
Plant efficiently:
Use your food disposal unit sparingly. Instead, create a compost pile. You will waste less water and have compost to use on your landscaping, which also conserves water.
Organic matter, such as compost, improves water and nutrient-holding capacity in soil, adds valuable microorganisms that aid in nutrient uptake by plants and reduces soil erosion.
Select plants that are appropriate for your local climate conditions.
Water efficiently:
Water at night or in early morning to avoid losing water to evaporation.
Water deeply. Light, frequent watering produces shallow roots, increasing the need for water.
Use drip irrigation and micro-sprays when possible. They use 30 to 50 percent less water than sprinklers.
Harvest alternative water sources:
Collect water in rain barrels or cisterns.
For each inch of rainfall, six gallons of water can be harvested per square foot of roof area.
Keep a bucket in your kitchen and pour water that would normally go down the drain into the bucket.
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