Easy Ways to Conserve Water At Home
You might have noticed that there is a pretty serious drought going on in California right now. It's so bad that the State is enacting emergency water conservation rules for its citizens. This is important for the rest of us because California grows a lot of food for our country, and the fact that the price of water in California is increasing is going to mean a higher prices at the supermarket.
While this is obviously a potential crisis in the making, there may be a small bright side. Pricey California produce would give local farms an advantage and more people might go to farmer's markets and take part in community supported agriculture.
Anyways, I also hope that this issue will force people (myself included) to reconsider their relationship to water. Water is a precious resource, to use it we need to collect it, clean it, and pipe it where we need it to go. This is an intensive process, it takes time, resources, and a lot of money. As a society we don't tend to think about this, because we're blessed enough to have others do it for us.
Conserving water in small ways can really make a difference. A gallon that we save by being conscientious now can be used later to water our crops.
Turning Water off
Growing up I was taught to turn off the water when brushing my teeth, I think there may have even been a song about it at school. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that this simple principle can be applied to other areas of my home life.
Instead of letting the water run while doing the dishes, I fill the sink up and turn the water off. It doesn't take much water to rinse the dishes, and I'm certain I'm saving gallons a week this way.
The next step is probably to turn the water off in-between rinses in the shower. I know that a lot of people do this. After all, the average shower uses about two gallons of water every minute.
However, I'm having trouble reconciling myself with being wet and cold. So to facilitate this transition I plan on shaving at other times. Having fewer hygiene tasks will mean less time in the shower, and less time in the shower will mean I won't be as opposed to turning that glorious hot water off in-between rinses.
Reducing In Small Ways
Do you have any leaky faucets in the house? For a while both our toilet and bathtub faucet leaked. I'm sure we waisted an incredible amount of water because we put off getting them fixed for a while.
Stopping leaks promptly is a great way to keep a lid on your unnecessary water consumption. Every drip that goes down the drain is another drop that would have to be cleaned and piped for no reason.
Another small thing that can help conserve water is to manually reduce the amount of water that your toilet uses. The easiest way to do this is to place a brick, or perhaps a full water bottle into the toilet tank. This reduces the water used for each flush by the volume of that item.
Of course, you still want the toilet to work, so don't go overboard.
It's also a good idea to stop using the toilet as a trashcan. Try not to flush single tissues, hairs, or other small debris. That's a lot of water per item. Try getting a bathroom trashcan instead.
Reusing as possible
Do you make pasta? Boil Eggs? boil vegetables? You can save all that water for your houseplants, and it's good for them. All the nutrients in the water feed the micro-organisms in the soil. A healthy soil ecosystem generally makes for healthier, happier plants. Even if you have only have one little fern that you water once a week saving that water will make a difference in the long run.
It's as as easy as draining these things to a bowl rather than letting that water go down the sink. Then letting it cool before watering whatever vegetation you might have kicking around. That way it gets reused as is rather than having to be cleaned immediately.
This is a light way of using gray water, which is all the used water in the house except what comes out of the toilet. If you're interested in reusing the gray water in your home I recommend this book. The technical aspects were a little much for me, but I felt it was worth the effort.
None of these tips really save a ton of water, but conservation is really about making a cumulative effort. Everything you do, everyday, adds up over your lifetime. As a community the little changes can add up quickly. We can reduce the strain on our aquifers, and reduce the amount of resources that goes into cleaning our water and piping it into every house.
We can make a difference.
Do you have any water conservation tips for me?
