Conservation
| Water Conservation Tips | |
| 1 | Start by turning off the tap in the bathroom when your brush your teeth or shave or in the kitchen while cleaning fruits and vegetables. |
| 2 | Put a pitcher of water in the refrigerator, so you won't have to run the tap every time you want a drink. When you let the water run, five gallons a minute pour down the drain. |
| 3 | Repair leaky faucets and replace water-guzzling fixtures and appliances with their water-efficient counterparts. A leaky faucet can waste too much water - one drip per second wastes 6000 gallons of water per year! |
| 4 | Put a shut-off nozzle on your hose. A single hose left on uses nearly 300 gallons of water per hour. |
| 5 | Water your lawn before 10 AM and never when it is windy. Landscape with grasses, shrubs and plants that require little water. Typically, 50 to 70 percent of household water is used on lawns and gardens. |
| 6 | At work, use recycled paper products, always use both sides of the paper and participate in recycling programs. Paper manufacturing is one of the top five water consuming industries. |
| 7 | Use garden lawn and garden fertilizers and pesticides sparingly. Pesticides are a leading contaminant of water. North Americans use for commercial, agricultural and residential purposes more than 500,000 tons a year. |
| 8 | Find water safe methods to control pests. For example, geraniums repel Japanese beetles, garlic and mint repel aphids and marigolds repel flies. |
| 9 | Use rechargeable batteries. Batteries can leach toxic metals including lead, mercury and cadmium into water. |
| 10 | Buy phosphate-free detergents. Phosphates increase algae growth and deplete the amount of oxygen in our lakes, rivers and streams. |
| 11 | Take shorter showers. |
| 12 | Load your dishwasher to full capacity. |
| 13 | Install low-volume toilets and low-flow showerheads. |
| 14 | Mulch around trees and plants to retain water. |
| 15 | Recycle water from fish tanks by using it to water plants. |
| 16 | Start a compost pile instead of using your garbage disposal. |
17 | Use a broom to clean sidewalks - not a hose. |
| 18 | Use fly swatters instead of bug spray. |
| 19 | Take used motor oil and other toxic fluids to a collection site. |
| 20 | Have abandoned wells sealed by a licensed contractor. |
| 21 | Have septic systems pumped out every one to three years. |
| 22 | Remove or replace underground tanks on your property if they leak. |
| Swimming Pool Conservation Tips | |
| 1 | Limit the number of times you refill the pool. |
| 2 | Cover the pool. The average swimming pool loses 1inch of water per week from evaporation. Covering the pool also prevents accidents and reduces the amount of cleaning to maintain the pool. |
| 3 | Lower the water level to reduce the loss of water from splashing. |
| 4 | Lower the pool temperature for heated pools to reduce water loss from evaporation. |
| 5 | Keep the pool and filters clean to reduce the amount of backwashing. Only backwash when necessary. When backwashing filters, reuse the water by running it onto your lawn or shrubs. |
| 6 | Make sure the water is absorbed to avoid runoff in adjacent properties. |
| 7 | If acid has been used to clean the pool, the water should be neutralized. Check the pool regularly for cracks and leaks. |
Click here for information and tips for watering your lawn.