Water Conservation & Usage Tips

CHECK YOUR TOILET FOR LEAKS 
Put a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the coloring begins to appear in the bowl, you have a leak that may be wasting more than 100 gallons of water a day. Fix it.

PUT A PLASTIC BOTTLE IN YOUR TOILET TANK 
Put an inch or two of sand or pebbles in the bottom of a quart bottle to weigh it down. Fill the rest of the bottle with water and put it in your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanism. In an average home, the bottle may save five gallons or more of water every day without harming the efficiency of the toilet.

TAKE A SHORTER SHOWER 
A typical shower uses five to ten gallons of water per minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash and rinse off.

INSTALL WATER-SAVING SHOWER HEADS 
Your hardware or plumbing supply store stocks inexpensive shower heads or flow restrictors that will cut your shower flow up to three gallons a minute instead of five to ten.

TAKE BATHS 
A partially filled tub uses less water than all but the shortest showers.

TURN OFF THE WATER WHILE BRUSHING YOUR TEETH 
​Before brushing, wet your brush and fill a glass for rinsing your mouth.

TURN OFF THE WATER WHILE SHAVING 
Fill the bottom of the sink with a few inches of warm water in which to rinse your razor.

CHECK FAUCETS AND PIPES FOR LEAKS 
Even a small drip can waste 50 or more gallons of water per day!

USE AUTOMATIC DISHWASHER FOR FULL LOADS ONLY 
Every time you run your dishwasher, you use up to 25 gallons of water.

USE YOUR WASHING MACHINE FOR FULL LOADS ONLY 
Your automatic washer uses 30 to 35 gallons a cycle. Too much for a few shirts.

KEEP DRINKING WATER REFRIGERATED 
This puts a stop to the wasteful practice of running tap water to cool it for drinking.

DON'T LEAVE WATER RUNNING TO RINSE DISHES 
If you have two sinks, fill one with rinse water. If you have only one sink, first gather all your washed dishes in a dish rack, then rinse them quickly with a spray device or a pan of water.

WATER YOUR LAWN ONLY WHEN IT NEEDS IT 
Watering on a regular schedule doesn't allow for cool spells or rainfall which reduce the need for watering. Step on some grass. If it springs back up when you move your foot, it doesn't need water.

PLANT DROUGHT-RESISTANT TREES AND PLANTS 
Many beautiful trees and plants thrive without irrigation in the limited rainfall of our semiarid region.

PUT A LAYER OF MULCH AROUND TREES AND PLANTS 
Mulch slows the evaporation of moisture.

Tips for Cold Weather

Keep the water running, especially if you’ve had problems with frozen pipes in the past. Try running a small steady stream of water from a cold water faucet in extremely cold weather. The cost of the water is small compared to dealing with the cost and inconvenience of frozen or burst pipes. Make sure you run the water from a faucet children don’t use, because they may inadvertently shut off the faucet after using it.

IF A PIPE BURST
Locate your inside water shut-off valve now! The shut-off valve controls all of the water into your home. If a pipe bursts, knowing the location of your shut-off valve and how to turn it off, can save valuable time and prevent water damage.

LOCATE SHUT-OFF VALVE
The shut-off valve may be located in the basement, under the kitchen sink, in a utility closet, near the hot water heater, or even under the house in a crawl space. If you cannot locate or do not have a shut-off valve, call a licensed plumber immediately!