Trail to Earth Day #7: Changing Simple Habits Today Saves Water for Tomorrow
April 7, 2020 — There’s one situation where you definitely don’t want to worry about water use these days: washing your hands. Lather up and rinse well! But there are plenty of other ways to save water.
It’s easy to forget why conserving water is so important when it seems so readily available in our part of the world. But according to the EPA, in the next 10 years, under average conditions, 40 of 50 states expect water shortages in some portion of their states.
Indoor Tips
Many common sense ways to cut back require little effort, just being mindful: wash only full loads of dishes or laundry, take shorter showers, don’t let faucets run when brushing teeth or washing vegetables.
Save water from household chores, or collect the cold water you let run down the drain before it’s hot enough. Recycled water could be used for watering plants, in the garden or even for flushing the toilet.
Washing dishes by hand actually uses more water than running the dishwasher. The EPA estimates an efficient dishwasher uses half as much water, saving close to 5,000 gallons each year. (There’s usually no need to pre-rinse!)
Look for leaky faucets or toilets. If none are obvious, check your water meter when no one is using water in your house. After one hour, if the meter reading has advanced when no water is in use, you may have a leak somewhere.
Put a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired.
Outdoor Tips
According to Aquarion Water Co., most homes use 30% of their water outdoors, and more than 50 percent of that landscape water can be wasted due to evaporation, wind, or overwatering. Steps you take to conserve lawn and garden water usage can have an impact beyond your property lines.
Learn about landscaping choices that are best for the environment and conserving natural resources. Consider minimizing turf areas, selecting climate appropriate species requiring less water, grouping plants together by water requirements and using efficient irrigation systems.
Water lawn or garden during cool morning hours to reduce evaporation. Don’t water on windy days. If your sprinkler doesn’t have an automatic timer, use one from your kitchen or cell phone as a reminder to turn off the water. Aquarion offers many helpful lawn and garden irrigation tips.
Use a broom to sweep driveways, patios and walkways instead of hosing them clean. Replace washers in hoses and attachments. Collect water in a rain barrel for use in containers or garden beds. Raise mower blades–longer grass provides more shade for roots to hold in more moisture.
Bathe pets outside, in a dry area of your yard, using a tub of water instead of a hose.
Share this fun quiz with children to help make them aware and mindful of the need for conserving water.
Read more about these tips and many others from Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Without changing old habits and practices, the water we take for granted today is water that someone, or something, may not be able to use tomorrow.
Speaking of water, let’s head down the Big Muddy …
