The following are some water conservation tips. There are countless ways in which you can save water around you home or business. Even minor changes in daily habits can effect the amounts of water consumed.
Toilets, Taps, Showers, Laundry, and Dishes
- On average, 10 gallons per day of your water footprint (or 14% of your indoor use) is lost to leaks. Short of installing new water-efficient fixtures, one of the easiest, most effective ways to cut your footprint is by repairing leaky faucets and toilets.
- If you use a low-flow showerhead, you can save 15 gallons of water during a 10-minute shower.
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving.
- It takes about 70 gallons of water to fill a bathtub, so showers are generally the more water-efficient way to bathe.
- Wash in Full loads.
- All of those flushes can add up to nearly 20 gallons a day down the toilet. If you still have a standard toilet, which uses close to 3.5 gallons a flush, you can save by retrofitting or filling your tank with something that will displace some of that water, such as a brick.
- Most front-loading machines are energy- and water-efficient, using just over 20 gallons a load, while most top-loading machines, unless they are energy-efficient, use 40 gallons per load.
- Nearly 22% of indoor home water use comes from doing laundry. Save water by making sure to adjust the settings on your machine to the proper load size.
- Dishwashing is a relatively small part of your water footprint—less than 2% of indoor use—but there are always ways to conserve. Using a machine is actually more water efficient than hand washing, especially if you run full loads.
- Energy Star dishwashers use about 4 gallons of water per load, and even standard machines use only about 6 gallons. Hand washing generally uses about 20 gallons of water each time.
Yards and Pools
- Nearly 60% of a person’s household water footprint can go toward lawn and garden maintenance.
- Water your lawns early, before sunrise, or after sunset. This maximizes water absorption into the soil and minimizes evaporation.
- Water lawn only when needed. Most plants do not need to be watered everyday.
- Make sure your sprinklers are leak proof and not aimed at sidewalks, streets or driveways.
- Set mower blades 4″ and keep them sharp.
- Shut off your sprinklers after a rain.
- Use drip irrigation or soaker hoses to water trees, shrubs, and flower beds.
- The average pool takes 22,000 gallons of water to fill, and if you don’t cover it, hundreds of gallons of water per month can be lost due to evaporation.
Diet
- The water it takes to produce the average American diet alone—approximately 1,000 gallons per person per day—is more than the global average water footprint of 900 gallons per person per day for diet, household use, transportation, energy, and the consumption of material goods.
- That quarter pounder is worth more than 30 average American showers. One of the easiest ways to slim your water footprint is to eat less meat and dairy. Another way is to choose grass-fed, rather than grain-fed, since it can take a lot of water to grow corn and other feed crops.
- A serving of poultry costs about 90 gallons of water to produce. There are also water costs embedded in the transportation of food (gasoline costs water to make). So, consider how far your food has to travel, and buy local to cut your water footprint.
- A cup of coffee takes 55 gallons of water to make, with most of that H2O used to grow the coffee beans.
- Support local businesses that practice conservation.
Electricity, Fuel Economy, and Airline Travel
- Washing a car uses about 150 gallons of water, so by washing less frequently you can cut back your water use.
- Wash the car with a bucket instead of a hose.
- A gallon of gasoline takes nearly 13 gallons of water to produce. Combine your errands, car pool to work, or take public transportation to reduce both your energy and water use.
The following is also a very in depth Water Smart Guidebook with water use efficiency plans for businesses:
Click to access WaterSmart-Guidebook.pdf
Sources: National Geographic Water Conservation Tips and Marina Coast Water District Conservation Tips
Water Sustainability and Fog Water Catchers 