Easy Ways to Conserve Water

Water conservation is something we hear about during the summer months and times of drought. The truth is we need to be conscious of our water consumption throughout the year, even autumn and winter.

It is important to conserve water for many reasons, the biggest of which also being the simplest: the fact that the fresh water supply is a finite natural resource. The supply at any given time tends to be so great that we sometimes forget this fact, but the truth is that we can run out of fresh water.

Additionally, large amounts of energy are required to provide houses and businesses with running water. In fact, the EPA states that running a faucet for just five minutes uses about the same amount of energy required to power a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours.

So what can you do to help this problem? There are many year round water-saving efforts everyone can make from the comfort of their own home.

These include:

• Check all plumbing and faucets for leaks - one drop per second wastes 2,700 gal per year.
• Replace older toilets with new, low-volume toilets.
• Purchase Energy Star labeled washing machines
• Take quick showers - five minutes or less is best, using low-pressure shower heads.
• Don`t leave the water running while washing, shaving or brushing your teeth.
• Water your yard and plants in the early or late part of the day to reduce evaporation
• Plant drought tolerant grasses, shrubs and trees; these require less watering.

For a complete list of water conservation tips, visit FEMA`s, "Are You Ready" site.

Be sure to keep WeatherBug active in your system tray in order to receive the latest weather and drought information for your area.

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Photo Courtesy of the National Geophysical Data Center