water-tap

Water conservation is something we all should practice. Except for the air we breathe, water is the single most important element in our lives. It’s too precious to waste. Here are some useful facts and simple suggestions that will help you understand more about water. They’ll help you save hundreds, even thousands, of gallons per month without any great inconvenience.

  • Nearly 97% of the world’s water is salty or otherwise undrinkable. Another 2% is locked in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves just 1% for all of humanity’s needs—all its agricultural, manufacturing, community, and personal household needs
  • If everyone in the United States flushed the toilet just one less time per day, we could save a lakeful of water about a mile long, a mile wide, and four feet deep every day.
  • Which uses more water, a shower or a tub bath? It all depends. A partially filled tub uses much less than a long shower, while a short shower is much more water efficient than a brimful tub. If you shower in a bathtub, check yourself by plugging the tub to see how high the water comes when you’re finished. Do you use more or less than that amount when you take a bath?
  • Which is more water efficient, washing dishes in an automatic dishwasher or doing them by hand in the sink? It depends. But you can check by testing how many gallons a full sink basin holds compared with the 9.5 to 12 gallons dishwashing machines use during a regular cycle.
  • If someone in your family likes to shave with water running in the basin, they probably use at least one gallon per minute, most of it wasted. A stoppered basin needs one-half gallon or so of water for adequate razor rinsing.
  • Check every faucet in the house for leaks. A single dripping faucet can waste far more water in a single day than one person needs for drinking in an entire week. Don’t wait to fix a drip. Do it now!
  • Water the landscape only, not streets, walks, and driveways.