Thanks to a recent spring rain, my rain barrel is FULL! I am grateful that in Iowa we have the freedom to collect rainwater for our outdoor uses. I use rain water for my container gardens, the annual vegetable garden, flower beds and my newly planted blueberries and aronia bushes. I also use the rainwater to wash my car - if it gets really dirty. When I have more rain water than I can use outdoors, I empty the barrel into empty milk jugs to use for my indoor plants and, if need be, to pour flush toilets in an emergency.
I hope we don’t have a water emergency this summer, but drought predictions continue. Last summer our community well was low and we were asked to reduce our water usage. We were given a few suggestions like ‘don’t water your lawn, wash your cars, or fill pools’. I knew there were many more things a household can do to reduce the demand on water supplies. After a little research, we came up with a pretty good list of things the families in our neighborhood association could do to reduce the demand on our well.
In the home, there are a number of practices that can save hundreds of gallons of water. Families can reduce their water consumption with a few easy changes. The best practices for saving water indoors include:
- Fix leaks. Leaks are the biggest water waster. Even a slow leak in your faucet can waste up to 300 gallons of water per month.
- Install low flow. Replace toilets made before 1995 with newer low flow models. This can reduce bathroom water usage 30-60%. Faucet aerators and low flow shower heads can reduce water usage by 40%. Replace dishwashers and clothes washers with more efficient models.
- Slow the flow. Flush less. Take shorter showers. Run only full loads in the dishwasher and laundry. Don’t use the garbage disposal – compost instead.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach offers many educational resources for families to learn about water conservation. Here are two tools your household can use to create water conservation habits indoors and out! One family in our Eco Family Virtual Conference has already reduced their water consumption by 23%!!
Please share YOUR thoughts on water use in the Eco Family blog!
Kristi
