How To Become Water Wise

Conservation

South Florida is a beautiful place to enjoy life.

And being a tropical area, all life is nurtured by ample amounts of water. Our water is supplied through rainfall and a constant replenishment of the groundwater system.

During periods of extremely low rainfall, Broward County's groundwater system is being depleted faster than it can be replenished. So, to keep our environment flourishing with life, water supplies must be protected.

This supply and demand imbalance can be addressed if we use water wisely. Water conservation is necessary to ensure an ample water supply for ourselves and for generations ahead.

Conservation will do more than save gallons of water. It also will save your money. The following pointers bathroom, kitchen & laundry, and outside, may alert you to serious water-wasting habits many of us have developed. Of course, bad habits can be changed into good habits from a water-wasting life-style to a water-wise life-style.

Water conservation is important for our future.

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Kitchen & Laundry

Automatic dishwashers use about fifteen gallons for every cycle, regardless of how many dishes are loaded. So get a run for your money; load it to capacity.

Clothes washers also are more water efficient if run only when they are full.

When washing dishes by hand, don't let the tap run freely to rinse. Instead, plug the second side of your sink and let it fill. Even if this water needs to be changed two or three times to keep water soap-free, you'll use considerably less water and keep the water heater from working as hard.

Fill a pitcher with drinking water and store it in the refrigerator. This eliminates the wasteful practice of running the tap while waiting for water to cool.

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Bathroom

All pipes and faucets should be checked for leaks, as hundreds of gallons a day could be dripping away. To avoid this waste, all it takes is a five-cent washer which is easy to install.

Your toilet uses a lot of water. Check it periodically for leaks by placing a few drops of food coloring in the tank. After a few minutes, if you see the color in the bowl, you have a leak, perhaps caused by a faulty flapper. Such leaks can waste hundreds of gallons a day.

Listen for gurgling sounds coming from your toilet. These noises indicate the flush ball needs to be adjusted to stop wasting water. To reduce the amount of water used with each flush, fill a plastic, one-quart bottle with water and place in the toilet tank. To anchor the bottle, partially fill it with sand or any heavy substance. This does not affect the efficiency of most toilets and can save five or more gallons per day for a family of four.

Avoid using your toilet for a wastebasket or ashtray. Extra flushes cost money and the debris flushed down can cause expensive damage to the plumbing.

While shaving, partially fill the sink basin with water and clean the blade in this, rather than running a steady stream.

For brushing your teeth, run the water only long enough to wet your toothbrush and fill a cup for rinsing.

Extra-long showers gobble up many gallons of water. Limit showers to five minutes. One trick is to turn off the water while washing hair and soaping up. Each minute subtracted from showering time could save up to ten gallons of water.

Replace standard shower heads with low-volume heads or flow restrictors. This step could cut consumption by one-fourth.

For bathtub users, a full tub is not necessary. A half-full tub will clean you just as well as one filled to the brim.

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Outdoors

When washing the car, park it on the lawn so the water used to wash the car, nourishes the grass. Use soap and water from a bucket. Always use a hose with a shut-off nozzle for a quick final rinse.

Use a bucket of soapy water to wash your car, rinse with the hose.

A turn-off nozzle will make it easy to turn off the water or adjust the spray.

Washing down your sidewalk or driveway is a wasteful approach to cleaning. Switch to a broom or vacuum which is much cheaper and works equally as well.

Use a broom to clean the driveway or sidewalk instead of water.

Irrigate your lawn sparingly keeping in mind water use restrictions that may be in effect. Adjust your irrigation schedule to accommodate changes in seasonal water demand. Consider an automatic timer capable of detecting rainfall. This will preclude your system from operating if your lawn is being irrigated naturally.

Adjust sprinklers so only the lawn and vegetation is irrigated. Check and make repairs to your sprinkler system regularly. to insure efficient irrigation, don't use the system on windy days.

For landscaping, use native or other low water use plants. Use the principles of Xeriscape.

More water can be retained around plants by using a layer of mulch around the vegetation. Water retaining ditches also allow water to be concentrated around the plants.