Think About Water Conservation
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Think About This:
A slow drip from a single faucet (you know that one you've put off fixing) adds up to about 170 gallons of water a month. Enough water that if your car ran on water, it would be enough fuel for you to drive from Tallahassee to California...and back! So just fix those leaks. Think about that.
- By just cutting off a couple of minutes from your daily shower, you would save enough water in a year for 3 months of free showers. So just turn it off a little sooner. Think about that.
When you water your lawn in the middle of a warm summer day, up to 60% evaporates into thin air. Gone. Wasted. The best time to water is early in the day. Think about that.
Water Conservation
Did you know that only 1 percent of water on our planet is readily available for drinking? That's because only 3 percent of the world's water is fresh water rather than salt water; and of that amount, icecaps and glaciers account for two thirds.
Fortunately, our region has a sufficient supply of drinking water underground in the Floridan Aquifer. To preserve this vital resource, your Water Utility encourages you to take measures to conserve and protect it.
A typical household uses approximately 9,000 gallons per month or 108,000 gallons per year. That's enough water to fill a bathtub more than 2,500 times! More than half of this usage occurs in the bathroom--from toilets (24 percent), baths (9 percent) and showers (21 percent). Bathroom faucet leaks add another 5 percent, so the total amounts to much more than just a drop in the bucket. Also, washing machines use a substantial amount of water (or 22 percent of the total).
INDOORS
In the bathroom
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth, washing your face, shaving and lathering in the shower.
- Don't use the toilet as a waste basket.
- Repair leaky faucets and toilets (one drop per second wastes 2,700 gallons of water per year).
- Take a shorter shower and install a energy/water-saving showerhead with a 2.5 gpm (gallons per minute) rating.
- Use less water for baths. Filling the tub uses about 50 gallons. Also, plug the tub before running the water and then adjust the temperature as the water fills up.
In the kitchen
- Chill a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap while waiting for the water to cool.
- Use the dishwasher only for full loads and set the washing machine to the appropriate load size.
- Thaw food in the refrigerator rather than using running water.
- Install water-saving aerators and flow restrictors on all faucets.
- Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers.
- Use the garbage disposal sparingly and compost vegetable food waste.
- When buying new appliances, consider energy efficient models.
OUTDOORS
- Adjust sprinklers so only the lawn, rather than the house, street or driveway, is watered.
- Install a rain sensor on your irrigation controller so the system doesn't run when it's raining.
- Check for leaks in garden hoses. An average water hose sprays about 10 gallons per minute, but a pinhole-sized leak can waste as much as 170 gallons of water per day.
- Collect water from your roof to water your garden and indoor plants.
- Report any broken water lines or errant sprinklers to the property owner.
By making these small changes to our daily activities and encouraging others to do so as well, we can protect our water supply for years to come. Think about that!