20 ways to reduce water usage. Start Today.
- Repair all leaky faucets, fixtures, and pipes at your residence.
- Install flow restrictors on faucets.
- Do not leave water running continuously during dish washing, shaving, brushing of teeth and while washing hands.
- Run the dishwasher and clothes washer only for full loads, or utilize the lowest water setting for small loads.
- Use the garbage disposal sparingly or start a compost pile for vegetable scraps.
- Scrape dishes clean instead of rinsing them clean.
- Rinse vegetables and fruit in a sink or pan filled with water instead of running them under running water.
- Reuse water from rinsing vegetables for watering plants.
- Keep container of cold water in the refrigerator, as opposed to running the faucet to get cold water.
- Install a low-flow shower head to limit the amount of water dispensed per minute.
- Reduce shower time and/or install a cutoff valve.
- Reduce the amount of water used for bathing by 1 to 2 inches.
- Take a shower not a bath.
- Never use the toilet to dispose of cleaning tissues, cigarette butts or other trash.
- Water lawns only when needed, use a soil moisture meter to determine the need to water.
- Do not over water your yard; over watering results in water run off.
- Use sprinklers that produce large drops of water instead of those that produce a mist.
- Set automatic sprinklers to provide thorough, but infrequent, watering (1” every 5 days).
- Utilize rain shutoff devices to prevent watering during rain.
- Use drip irrigation systems for bedded plants, trees, shrubs, or turn the hose upside down so that water penetrates directly into the ground.