Between 1950 and 2000, the U.S. population nearly doubled. However, in that same period, public demand for water more than tripled! Americans now use an average of 100 gallons of water each day. Clean, abundant water resources have always been a mainstay here in the U.S. however a recent government survey showed at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional, or statewide water shortages by 2013. By using water more efficiently, we can help preserve water supplies for future generations, save money, and protect the environment. Here's how you can help.
Not Just Saving Water
Water supply and treatment facilities consume about 56 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, enough electricity to power more than 5 million homes for an entire year.
Letting your faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours.
Take shorter showers. A typical shower lasts about 8 minutes and uses about 17 gallons. An efficient shower lasts 3 or 4 minutes and uses 7.5 gallons.
Shower daily? If so there’s an easy opportunity to save some money, water, and energy.
The hot water that many of us take for granted accounts for a substantial portion of our energy costs, as much as 25% depending on use. Showers can be the largest single contributor to overall hot water use. Even a modest 10-minute shower can use up to 50 gallons of hot water with a conventional showerhead. Install a low-flow showerhead and reduce your energy and water use by half.
Low flow showerheads aren’t hard to find; all showerheads manufactured in the U.S. must restrict flow to 2.5 gallons per minute (gpm) or less. Some models are designed to use even less water.
Cost: $5-$35
Potential Resource Savings: 7,000 gallons per year.
Potential Monetary Savings: $275 annually
Try not to run the faucet unnecessarily. Be sure to turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth washing your hands, or doing the dishes.
Save some money while you wash up for dinner. An easy, effective, and inexpensive way to reduce your faucet use is by installing a low-flow faucet aerator on all your household faucets. Some aerators can restrict flow from 3.5 gallons per minute to less than 1.0 gallon per minute.
Cost: $2 - $15
Potential Resource Savings: 55% reduction in water usage.
Potential Monetary Savings: $35 annually
We waste gallons of perfectly good water down the drain each time we flush, and of course that water isn’t free. So to save our fresh water resources and a little spending cash try using less water each time you flush.
The best thing we can do to improve toilet efficiency is to put a brick or two or an old 2 liter soda bottle filled with water in your existing tank. Afterwards, each time you flush, that amount of displaced water will not be used. This is much better than replacing an otherwise perfectly good toilet to save a little water. Remember the replaced toilet winds up in a dump somewhere adding to the environmental cost not to mention the cost to your pocketbook.
If you are replacing an old broken toilet or buying new from scratch, remember that toilets made after 1993 are mandated to use 1.6 gpf or less. If buying new to replace a broken toilet:
Cost: $60 - $300
Potential Resource Savings: 9.7 gallons per day
Potential Monetary Savings: $90
No one likes watching their money go down the drain, but when leaky faucets and toilets go unchecked that’s exactly what happens. It may not seem like much, but that annoying drip can really start to add up:
To tell if you have leaks in other places around the house turn off all your water sources in the house and monitor your water meter before and after a two hour period.
60 drops per minute = 192 gallons per month
90 drops per minute = 310 gallons per month
120 drops per minute = 429 gallons per month
Cost: Elbow Grease and a good pipe wrench
Potential Resource Savings: 16 gallons per day
Potential Monetary Savings: $25
Washing clothes can prove to be a costly chore if we’re not washing wisely. The average washing machine uses about 40 gallons of water per load. So when it comes time to replace that old washer switch to a more efficient model. High-efficiency washing machines use less than 28 gallons of water per load. Either way it’s a good practice to wash only full loads or use the appropriate size setting when washing.
Cost: $350 -$1,200
Potential Resource Savings: 7,000 gallons annually.
Potential Monetary Savings: $50 annually