Using water wisely in times of drought is critical; however, it is always important to use our valuable natural resource wisely. Here are a few tips to help you be water wise. 

Fix leaks in faucets and outside spigots

At one drip per second, a faucet can leak 3,000 gallons of water per year. How much water could you be saving by fixing your leaking faucet – find out with this online calculator.

Fix toilet leaks

To check to see if you have a toilet leak, put some food coloring in your toilet tank. The next morning, if the color shows up in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak. A leaky toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water per day or 6,000 gallons a month.

Because toilet leaks are the most common cause of leaks and increased in-door water consumption, you should check your toilet regularly. Every six months when you re-set your clocks for the time change, check your toilet for leaks and change your smoke detector batteries.

Water when it is cool outside

Water your lawn or garden before 10am or after 7pm when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation. You want the water to soak into the ground – not get evaporated to the clouds! 

Don’t overwater your lawn

If you water your lawn (or other plants outdoors), it only needs 1 to 1.5 inches of water every week or two. To measure one inch of water, set an empty tuna can on your lawn in the area where you are running a sprinkler. When it is full, you have watered one inch. 

Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth

While brushing your teeth, turn off the water and save up to two gallons of water. The faucet doesn’t need to be running to get your teeth clean! 

 Shorten your showers

Shorten your shower to five minutes to save water as well as the energy you use to heat the water. 

Install flow restricting shower heads to reduce overall consumption.

Install a rain barrel

A rain barrel can collect rain water or air conditioning condensate to use for plant and garden watering when the weather gets dry. You can build your own rain barrel  or buy a barrel with a faucet already attached.

Watch how you can make a rain barrel.

Have a leak?

Fix it and let us know right away.