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The Good News

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Have you heard the good news? You do not have to go to extremes to substantially reduce your use of water. You just need to be conscious of how you use water and the various ways you can conserve water in your daily activities.

There are many ways you can save water. For example, do not leave the water running while you’re brushing your teeth or shaving. Take shorter showers and use high efficiency shower heads.  Install an inexpensive aerator on your kitchen sink reducing water flow to less than one gallon an hour. Try soaking pots and pans instead of scrubbing them under running water. You can refrigerate your drinking water instead of allowing the faucet to run until it cools. Finally, wash only full loads of laundry.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 12% of household indoor water use is lost to leaks. One of the most common leaks is found in the bathroom. Here is a simple dye test you can complete to see if your toilet is leaking.

  • Drip 10 to 15 drops of food coloring into the toilet tank.
  • Wait 10 minutes.
  • If colored water appears in the toilet bowl, you have a leak.
  • Generally, the leak is in or around the plunger ball or flapper valve at the bottom of the tank. This item are inexpensive parts and easy to replace.

Taking small deliberate steps will soon become habits and lead you down the road to water conservation. Share the good news with others that water conservation does not have to be difficult, time consuming or expensive.