Water Conservation Tips & Uses

Conscious Use

• The next time you leave the tap running while brushing your teeth or shaving, collect that water in a container or plug the drain so you can see how much you would have wasted. Gear suggests this knowledge may make you more aware and prevent you from wasting water in the future. You can also calculate your water footprint using National Geographic's water footprint calculator (see Resources).

Flush Less

• According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the average American household flushes away 24 gallons of fresh water per person per day. You can reduce this amount by using low-flow toilets, which the EPA estimates can reduce your household water consumption by up to 18 gallons per day. A second, simpler solution is to place a brick in your cistern to reduce the storage capacity of your toilet and save water every time you flush.

Shower, Not Bath

• A bath uses about 70 gallons of water, contrasted to 10 to 25 gallons for a 5-minute shower, according to the EPA. To further benefit from showering, install a low-flow shower head, which can reduce your household fresh water consumption by up to 12 percent.

Full Cycle

• Your dishwasher can actually save energy and water, but only if it's fully loaded, Gear says. A full dishwasher gives maximum benefit since it uses the same amount of water regardless of the load. The average dishwasher uses up to five times less water than hand washing, according to the U.K.-based special interest group Waterwise.

Indigenous Plants

• Plants adapted to your local weather patterns, in particular the annual rainfall, will require less watering in the garden.

Drip Irrigation

• Lawn irrigation accounts for approximately 30 percent of the household water consumption for the average American home, according to the EPA. Sprinklers lose a large portion of this water to evaporation and drift. Gear recommends a drip irrigation system that will dribble a small amount of water directly onto the soil around your plants and save you "huge amounts of water." Larry Stein and Doug Welsh, in a paper for the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences, state that drip irrigation can reduce water consumption by up to 60 percent compared to traditional watering methods. If installing drip irrigation seems excessive, use a watering can to reduce your outdoor water consumption by up to 60 percent in a small garden, Gear recommends.