Water Conservation Tips

Tips to conserve water in your lawn and garden.

Slow The Flow

Let it grow.

Adjust the height of your lawnmower to cut your grass higher. This helps protect roots from heat stress and reduces the loss of moisture to evaporation.

Stay true to your roots.

Promote deep root growth with proper watering, aerating, fertilization, grass-clipping control, and attention to lawn height. A lawn with deep roots requires less water and is more resistant to drought and disease.

Sidewalks don't need water.

Avoid planting turf in areas that are difficult to irrigate properly, such as steep inclines and isolated strips along sidewalks and driveways..

Plug away.

Aerate clay soils at least once a year to help the soil absorb and retain moisture, which helps your plants.

Make the beds.

Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch around flowers, shrubs and trees to help the soil retain moisture, discourage the growth of weeds, and provide essential nutrients.

Remember, April showers bring May flowers.

Plant in the spring or fall when lower temperatures mean plants use less water.

Think small.

When choosing plants, keep in mind that younger, smaller ones require less water to become established.

Don't water in the rain.

Consider installing a rainfall or soil moisture sensor for your automatic sprinkler system. Rainfall sensors stop watering in the rain and moisture sensors monitor the soil to determine when and how much water is needed.

Soak, don't spray.

Install drip-irrigation or soaker hoses for more efficient watering in planting beds and beneath shrub and trees.

Do it the hard way.

Use a broom or rake (not the hose) to remove debris from the driveways and walkways. It saves water and it's good exercise.

No cannonballs!

If you have a pool, keep the water level low to minimize loss from splashing. Use a cover to slow evaporation. An average sized pool can lose about 1,000 gallons (3,785 liters) of water per month if left uncovered.

Make it shine.

Use a bucket of soapy water and a hose with a shutoff nozzle to wash your car at a commercial car wash that recycles water.

Conserve water naturally.

Select plants that are native to your region and can thrive with little or no extra watering. Your local nursery can help you identify and select drought tolerant plants.

Keep it cool.

Water your lawn and landscape plants early in the morning when the sun's rays aren't working to evaporate your water.

At least 30 percent of water

used annually by a single-family suburban household is for outdoor irrigation. A large portion of that goes to waste through evaporation or runoff caused by over-watering. The landscaping tips in this article will help you conserve water-and save money.

Conserving water is good for all of us.

Using less water means less energy is used to treat it, pump it, and distribute it. By conserving water, you are helping maintain our natural resources.

We can all pitch in and slow the flow!

The Value of H20

A Liquid Asset

In a world of sky-rocketing prices on everything from food to homes to fuel, your tap water remains one of the best bargains around.

• At a fraction of a penny per gallon, tap water provides safety, convenience, and freedom.

• Less than 1% of the average person's total personal income is spent on water and wastewater services.

• An 8-oz glass of water can be refilled approximately 15,000 times for the same price as a six-pack of soda.

• Your water bill pays for a lot more than simply water. You get sophisticated water treatment , frequent testing testing and monitoring and a vast underground infrastructure that delivers save, plentiful water right to your tap.

• studies show that bottled water is no purer than tap water, yet bottled water costs about 1,900% more.

• American water utilities monitor more than 100 containments and must meet close to 90 regulations for water safety and quality.

• Community water supplies are testing everyday-far more frequent testing than for bottled water.

• Many North American water systems add small amounts of fluoride to their water supplies to prevent tooth decay. Child cavity rates have been reduced by 20% to 40% where fluoridation has been implemented.

A little comparative shopping...

On average, a gallon of tap water in the United States costs a fraction of a penny. You simply can't find a better deal for a commodity that means so much to your daily life. Compare that with the cost of some other liquids you might use on a daily basis.

One Gallon of tap water = less than 1/10th of a cent

One Gallon of bottled water = $1.43-$8.00

One Gallon of soda = $2.80-$4.60

One Gallon of milk = $3.79-$4.24

One Gallon of gasoline = $2.49-$3.75

One Gallon of table wine = $18.50-$37.95

One Gallon of Cafe-Lattes = $35-$52

One Gallon of imported olive oil = $135-$525

One Gallon of french perfume = $60-$160

(based on 2010 US prices.)

Did You know?

Every year, water utilities provide customers with a detailed report on the quality of their drinking water. To find your utility's report, contact your local utility or visit www.drinktap.org or www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html

As your water provider, we serve more than water. We provide value, public health, fire protection, reliability, and peace of mind. Our job is to ensure that your water keeps flowing not only today, but well into the future. It's all part of our service commitment to you and everyone in our community.

H2O The original health drink

Did you know?

Water is the original health drink. With no calories, no cholesterol, no caffeine and no fats or sugars, every glass of water you drink nourishes your body and mind.

Drink Often.

Drink a glass of water with each meal and between each meal. Water helps digest food and prevent acid indigestion.

Water, water everywhere.

Juice, milk and soft drink, as well as fresh vegetables and fruits all contain water and can supply some of your daily intake requirements. Avoid beverages that contain caffeine or alcohol because they can act as diuretics and don't help maintain your body's fluid balance.

More is less.

Most weight-loss programs call for drinking a healthy amount of water everyday to help process food and counteract hunger attacks. We often feel hungry when we are dehydrated. Drinking a glass of water can alleviate hunger pangs.

A healthy glow.

Drinking enough water in important to the health of your skin. Drinking plenty of water helps remove the toxins that build up in your pores and keeps your skin from drying out.

Your survival depends on it.

A human can last longer without food than without water. Depending on a variety of factors, you can survive from 3 to 6 weeks without food, but only 2 to 10 days without water.

Smile.

Fluoride is often added to tap water supplies to help build strong, healthy teeth that resist decay. Water fluoridation has been recognized as one the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chlorine-the safety factor.

Tap water from your local supplier is treated to eliminate harmful chemicals, minerals, and pathogens that may occur in the source water. Chlorine is a common disinfectant used to kill germs and has greatly contributed to a nearly 30-year increase in life expectancy during the 20th century.

Protecting your health.

Your local water supplier must comply with regulations set forth by the Safe Drinking Water Act. This requires your utility to monitor and treat for almost 100 different parameters in the water delivered to your tap. As a result, drinking water is the most regulated and controlled substance you can ingest-more than any food, drug, or beverage.

Information about what is in your water and where it comes from can be found in your water utility's annual water quality report. you should receive this report every spring. Check to see if it's also posted on your utility's Web site.

Drink up!

You should consume equivalent of about eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to stay healthy. About 60 percent of the adult human body is water, so you need to replace the fluids that you lose through your perspiration and excretion.

As your water provider, we serve more than water. We provide value, public health, fire protection, reliability, and peace of mind. Our job is to ensure that your water keeps flowing not only today, but well into the future. It's all part of our service commitment to you and everyone in our community.

Water conservation at home

The inside story: Water Conservation at home

Resist the flush.

Inside the home, water use is pretty evenly distributed among appliances, but nearly 30 percent is flushed down the toilet. Avoid unnecessary flushing and you'll save big.

Go low-flow.

You can save thousands of gallons each year by replacing old toilets with ultra-low-flow toilets that use 1.6 gallons per flush or less.

Be a drip detective.

Check all your faucets, toilets, and appliances for water leaks and fix them. A leaky faucet that fills an 8-oz. (237 milliters) container in less than 30 minutes could waste as much as 1,225 gallons (4,630 liters) of water each year. Death to the drip!

Sing in the rain.

A full bathtub requires about 70 gallons (265 liters) of water, while taking a five minute shower under a low-flow shower head uses 10 to 25 gallons (38 to 95 liters)

Turn it down.

The average bathroom faucet runs at the rate of about 2 gallons (7.5 liters) of water per minute. Try running water at less than full flow. Turn the water off while you floss and brush your teeth.

The right equipment for the job.

Water-efficient toilets,bathroom faucets, and accessories can save the average home more than 11,000 gallons (41,600 liters) per year.

Fill'er up.

Running the dishwasher of washing machine when they are only half full uses just as much water al full loads.

Check hoses.

It's a good idea to replace dishwasher and clothes washer hoses every five years. Hoses don't last forever and can create devastating damage-and waste lots of water-if they fail.

Clean clothes. Less water.

By replacing your old clothes washer with a high-efficiency washing machine, you can reduce water consumption from 40 gallons (151 liters) per load to less than 28 gallons (106 liters) per load. Think how much water you will save in a year!

Locate the master valve.

Every home, apartment, and business has a master valve that controls water service. Locate your master valve so you can find it in an emergency. Consider turning it off if you are going out of town. That way, drips or leaks won't surprise you when you return.

It's about more than just water.

If one out of every 100 American homes were retrofitted with water efficient fixtures, about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity could be saved per year-avoiding 80,000 tons (72,600 metric tons) of greenhouse-gas emissions.

Do your part.

If just one out of every ten US homes upgraded to water efficient fixtures, more than 120 billion gallons (454 billion liters) of water more than $800 million would be saved annually.

How many times a day do you turn on the tap in your home?

Between the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry, chances are there's a lot of water flowing through pipes in your home-and plenty of opportunities to waste it. With just a little effort, you can save thousands of gallons of water every year. And that's good for your wallet, the environment, and our planet.

Conserving water is good for all of us.

Using less water means less energy is being used to treat it, pump it, and distribute it. By conserving water, you are helping maintain our natural resources.

We can all help by going low-flow!

Fascinating Facts About Water

Every time you turn on the tap

In your home, you receive one of the worlds most precious commodities-fresh, clean drinking water. Essential for all life, water is an amazing substance that can appear as a liquid, a solid, or a gas. Here are some other interesting facts about Water:

• When we use water, we generally add containments to it, like soap, food products, and chemicals, which must be removed before the water is used again.

• Close to three-quarters of the Earth's surface is covered with water, but less than one percent is suitable and available for drinking using conventional water treatment.

• Of all the water in the world, 97 percent is in the oceans and about 1.7 percent is locked up in ice and snow. Ice caps and glaciers hold a majority of Earth's freshwater-about 68.7 percent.

• Be careful of what you pour down your drain. It is the gateway to waste water disposal system and eventually your water supply.

• Climate change is having a significant impact on our water supplies. Increasing temperatures raise evaporation rates, change precipitation patterns, affect runoff and water quality, and change water use demands.

• In just 16 hours, US water utilities produce as much portable water as the oil industry produces in oil in a year. In 24 hours, as much water tonnage is produced as the steel industry produces in steel in an entire year.

• Ice cubes float because ice is less dense than water. Water freezes in a lattice-like formation, which creates buoyancy and allows ice to float.

• Your water utilities is responsible for underground pipes from the street up to your water meter, but if your pipes leak within the boundary of your property after the meter, it may be your responsibility to make repairs.

• Aboveground storage tanks ensure that water pressure is fairly constant and water volumes are sufficient to fight fires, even if the electricity that runs the pumps is off.

• Fire hydrants are sometimes called plugs because long ago when water was needed to fight fires, the hollowed-out logs used to distribute water were located and drilled into to access the water. When a fire was put out, a wooden plug was used to close the hole in the tapped log and was marked for future use.

• The majority of people in the United States-66 percent-live in areas served by large water systems that typically rely on surface water from lakes, reservoirs, and rivers. Approximately 80 percent of public water systems are in smaller communities that generally rely on groundwater.

• A snow crystal contains approximately 1 quintillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) molecules of water.

• The temperature at which water boils depends on atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure depends on the weight of the air above a location, which is why it takes longer for water to boil at higher elevations.

• Water is the original health drink. It contains no fat, no calories. and no cholesterol.

• Because 60 percent of an adult's body is water, its essential to replenish the water you lose through breathing, perspiration, and excretion. For most people, this equates to approximately 8 cups (2 liters) a day.

• Through the process of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and infiltration-the hydrologic cycle-the total amount of water on Earth remains constant.

Water is fascinating and essential to our very survival. We need to use water wisely and work together to protect this most precious resource.