How to Get a Break on Your Water Bill

Take shorter showers. Try reducing your shower time by five minutes and encourage all household members to do the same. Traditional, or unrestricted, shower heads use about 4 gallons of water per minute, meaning a family of four that collectively reduces their shower time by 20 minutes would save 80 gallons of water. Also consider filling your bathtub only halfway when taking baths, which saves about 10 to 15 gallons of water at a time.

Perform a water-leak test by turning off all appliances that use water and reading your meter. Do not use any appliances for the next half hour. Check your meter again once the time has passed. If the meter needle has moved, you have a leak.

Check all faucets and the toilet regularly to avoid leaks. Leaky toilets can waste as much as 7,000 gallons per month while one faucet that drips once per minute means 1,440 drips per day and 34 gallons of water wasted per year. Consult plumbing maintenance books to guide you in fixing leaks, or have a skilled friend, family member or professional repair leaking fixtures.

Do not let the water run while hand-washing dishes. Instead, fill up the basin to wash the dishes and then rinse them all at one time. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and shaving as well.

Avoid severe pruning of shrubs and plants, as they will require more water if you cut them too close.

Water the lawn and plants at night to reduce your water bill as the they will have more time to absorb the water. The heat of the day causes the water to evaporate, which means extra watering is required.

Wait until your dishwasher is full of dishes to operate it. If it has an "economy" setting, meaning the appliance will run on less energy, place it on this setting. Refrain from using your garbage disposal, which requires a lot of water to run efficiently. Instead, throw out the garage or throw it on your compost pile if you have one.

Don't waste water as you wait for the faucet to start running cold or hot. Instead, collect the water that first comes out and use it for watering plants, or store it in a pitcher and refrigerate it for cool drinking water.

Install a low-flow shower head. They usually cost between $10 and $20, and can save $50 to $75 a year on your water bill and $20 to $50 on your heating bill.