Water Conservation Starts at Home!

Water utilization has been a growing thorn on the side of water conservation and much of this occurs  at home. We all live in various regions of the world and in some places the need to conserve water is vital; while other nations boast of their adequate water supply. Water depletion is a growing concern that more often than not goes unnoticed. Particularly in taking showers, the amount of water we use, often between 2-4 gallons a minute, will go to waste if we do not have the proper means of controlling the flow of water from our pipes to cleanse or bathe ourselves.

Here are some low-cost ways to conserve water at home:

• Dishwashers and clothes washers should be operated when full for optimum water conservation. If you must wash partial loads, adjust the water levels as appropriate.
• The dishwasher is your friend: Even old-school dishwashers don’t use as much water per dish as hand-washing. Newer, more efficient dishwashers use only 1/6 of the water used during hand-washing, and save 230 hours of your time each year.
• Scrape, don’t rinse: Pre-rinsing dishes before loading the dishwasher is unnecessary. Scrape off food and then trust that bad boy to do its job.
• Pass on permanent press: Avoid the permanent press cycle when washing clothes, which uses an additional 5 gallons for the extra rinse.

• Upgrade your equipment: Get a high quality shower head like the Oxygenics® Evolution - Self-pressurizing, water & energy conserving, and lifetime guaranteed! Not only will you notice a huge savings on your water & energy bill but you will love the increased water pressure and invigorating spray that Oxygenics® products have to offer. Or you could always take a Navy shower!

• Install a low-flow 1.6 gallon toilet: Ultra-low flow toilets use only 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Using these could cut indoor water use by as much as 20%. Older toilets use 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush.
• Don’t use the toilet as a garbage: Using a wastebasket instead of the toilet for tissues and other bits of trash will save gallons of water that are otherwise wasted.
• Check for and repair leaks: Check all water lines and faucets (including outdoor) for leaks. One way is to turn off all water in your house and read your meter. Come back in 15 minutes. If the dial has moved, you have a leak.
• Install high-efficiency low-flow faucet aerators: Older faucets use between 3 and 7 gallons per minute. Low-flow faucet aerators use no more than 1.5 gallons of water per minute. The aerators can be attached to most existing faucets.

The next time you’re walking through your home, check out the shower head, the appliances, the toilets, and the faucets and see how many gallons of water you are literally letting go down the drain. In just the last 50 years of man’s existence water levels have already dropped up to 900 ft in some areas. Declining ground-water levels have three main effects on water wells. First, as the depth to water increases, the water must be lifted higher to reach the  surface. As the lift distance increases, so does the energy required to drive the pump. Thus, power costs increase as ground-water levels decline. Depending on the use of the water and the energy costs, it may no longer be economically feasible to use water for a given purpose. Second, ground-water levels may decline below the bottom of existing pumps, necessitating the expense of lowering the pump, deepening the well, or drilling a deeper replacement well. Third, the yield of the well may decline below usable rates. Many may overlook it, but the amount of water we consume may someday severely affect our lively hood and that of  future generations.   Don’t let your future dry up!