11 Super Simple Ways You Can Help with Water Conservation

We are constantly reminded to “go green.” Help to leave a smaller carbon footprint on the world by recycling, conserving water, driving less, reducing your use of electricity, etc. We want to focus on water conservation today. We’ll explain exactly what it is, and how you can do your part in reducing your water footprint.

What is water conservation?

Water conservation is used to describe strategies and activities put into action to protect the water environment and manage fresh water as a sustainable source to meet current and future human demand. More simply put, it’s the most cost-effective and environmentally sound way to reduce our demand for water. Population, household size, and growth all affect how much water is used. The climate change has increased pressures on natural water resources – especially in manufacturing and agricultural irrigation.

The goals of water conservation efforts include:

  • Ensuring the availability of water for future generations.
  • Making sure the withdrawal of fresh water from an ecosystem does not exceed its natural replacement rate.
  • Minimizing human water use to help preserve freshwater habitats for local wildlife and migrating waterfowl.
  • Preserving and improving our freshwater quality.

How can I do my part to conserve water?

More and more areas are struggling with droughts, making it essential for people to start doing their part to conserve water so that we can preserve this fundamental resource. Even if you aren’t living in a drought-stricken region, cutting back on water use will contribute to the overall preservation of water, plus it means a lower utility bill for your household. There are a variety of ways you can conserve water around the house. The following list is some ideas on how to do that. Don’t worry if you’re not able to do everything on the list, just pick a few things and do as much as you can. Even small changes can save substantial amounts of water over time.

  • Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth. The average water faucet dispenses 2.5 gallons per minute. There’s no need to let all that water go to waste while you brush. After you wet your toothbrush, turn the faucet off until it’s time to rinse.
  • Turn the tap off while washing your hands. After you have gotten your hands wet, turn your faucet off while you scrub your hands clean with soap. When it’s time to rinse you can turn the faucet back on.
  • Keep a bucket in the shower. While you are waiting for your water to heat up in the shower, stick a bucket under the shower head and fill it with the cold water. You can use that extra water for flushing the toilet or watering your plants.
  • Give your dogs a bath outside. That way, you can water your lawn while washing your cute K-9. Make sure that the soap you are using isn’t harmful to plants.
  • Soak pots and pans. Instead of letting the water run while you try and scrape your dishes clean, let them soak in hot water. It makes getting stuck on food much easier to remove anyway!
  • Head to the car wash. When you need to wash your car, take it to a car wash that recycles water, instead of washing it at the house.
  • Cut your showers short. Speed things up in the shower and save serious amounts of water. Or, cut back on how often you shower. Taking one less shower a week can drastically improve how much water you conserve.
  • Check showerheads and faucets for leaks. One drip every second adds up to five gallons per day, so make sure you fix any leaks you have!
  • If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down. I don’t think I should have to explain this one. Just try and limit the number of times you flush your toilet.
  • Apply the minimum amount of fertilizer needed. While fertilizers promote plant growth, they also increase water consumption, so only use what you need. For more tips on lawn fertilization click here.
  • Adjust your washing machine settings. Nearly 22% of indoor home water use comes from doing laundry. You can save water by adjusting the settings on your machine to use the proper amount of water for the size of the load.

Now that you know some ways to help save our precious resource share these tips with your friends and family. The more people we can get taking steps to preserve our water the better chance we have at reaching the goals of water conservation. Leave us a comment telling us what you do to save water and then check out our blog for more tips and tricks like these.