Clean water is essential for life. With freshwater accounting for only 3% of the Earth's water, it is crucial to conserve this natural resource. 30% of freshwater is groundwater, and aquifers are the primary source of water for residents of the Texas Panhandle. Groundwater recharge in this area is believed to be minimal, which means the supply will continue to diminish.
Growing populations and rising costs for water and wastewater facilities make it imperative for communities to take action. Water supplies in the future depend on conservation in the present. Here are four places where you can do your part to conserve water at home.
1. The bathroom
- Don't leave the water running while you brush your teeth, shave, or lather in the shower.
- Keep showers under eight minutes. Install a water-efficient showerhead, or use a restricting washer to reduce the water flow.
- Filling the tub uses about 50 gallons of water. Try bathing in just 10 gallons, and bathe children together to avoid drawing multiple baths.
- Replace your old 5-gallon-per-flush toilet with a new toilet that only uses 1.5 to 1.6 gallons per flush. If you don't want to install a new toilet, you can retrofit your old one with a water-saving displacement device.
- Leaky toilets can waste a lot of water. Replace the rubber flapper in the tank every 2 to 3 years. If black coloring comes off on your hand when you touch the flapper, it's time to replace it! To test for a leak, add several drops of food coloring to the toilet tank. If the coloring appears in the toilet after 15 minutes without flushing, you have a leaky toilet.
- Flush only when necessary. Avoid using the toilet for a wastebasket. Every flush you eliminate can save between 2 and 7 gallons of water.
2. The kitchen
- When washing dishes or vegetables, fill the sink with water rather than using the running tap.
- Reduce dishwashing. Use a rubber spatula to scrape dishes clean. Let dirty pans or dishes soak.
- Use the dishwasher for full loads only, and plan to prepare food with as few dishes as possible. Power- and water-efficient dishwashers can help with conservation, too.
- Defrost foods overnight in the refrigerator or use the microwave.
- Install a low-flow faucet aerator.
3. Pools and spas
- Cover pools and spas to reduce evaporation.
- Pay close attention to the water level. Drastic variation generally means you have a leak that needs to be serviced.
- Don't drain and refill your swimming pool during the summer except to replace normal water loss. You can limit overflows and splashes by reducing the water level in the pool.
- Never submerge a watering hose into the pool to refill it. You won't hear the hose running underwater and could forget that you left it on, wasting water and potentially causing a flood. Plus, unless you have an anti-siphon device installed, your chemically treated water could backflow into the city's water supply.
4. The yard
- Water yards in the early morning or evening to minimize evaporation. Cut back watering to 1 inch every seven days.
- Check sprinkler systems frequently for directional aim and broken heads to prevent watering driveways, sidewalks, and streets.
- Find a sprinkler that distributes large drops of water low to the ground. Misty sprays allow water to evaporate quickly.
- Use soaker hoses instead of sprinklers to water trees, shrubs, and beds more efficiently.
- Replace automatic sprinkler timers with evapotranspiration (ET) controller, which monitors information about soil moisture, rain, wind, and evaporation to regulate your watering system. ET controllers also use real-time data from local weather stations and can reduce water use by about 30%.
- Use 4 to 6 inches of mulch to prevent evaporation and keep the soil moist.
- Ask your local nursery or landscape professional about native plants that can conserve water.
- Mow less frequently during dry seasons. Keeping grass about 3 inches tall helps shade the soil, reducing evaporation, and deepening root growth.
- Use a broom or rake instead of a water hose to clean up grass or lawn debris on sidewalks or driveways.
- Check for leaks in taps, pipes, and hoses. One slow drip can waste 20 gallons of water daily, which adds up to 7,000 gallons per year.
For more information about how you can save water, go to www.pgcd.us/water-iq.
