Water Conservation Presentation made by Len Bzdel at the '09 AGM

Practical Water Conservation Tips

Conservation means using water efficiently or reducing the use of water to protect this precious resource. Using water wisely reduces pollution, health risks, water costs and extends the life of our existing supply. 

These are some useful water conservation tips gathered from several sources, including Environment Canada.

Outdoors

      During the growing season water use can increase by as much as 50%.

Find out how much water your lawn really needs. While lawns require a lot of water, much of this water is wasted - lost due to over watering and evaporation. As a general rule, most lawns/gardens require little more than 2 to 3 cm (1 inch) of water per week. A good test is to place a salmon or tuna can under your sprinkler. When it is full, you have watered enough.

Mow grass as little as possible and higher than normal. Mowing puts grass under stress making it require more water. Longer leaf surfaces promote deeper rooting and shade the root zone. Never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade in one mowing.

Keep lawn and flower beds free of weeds. They rob your lawn and plants of water.

Return mulched clippings to the lawn. Mulching reduces evaporation.

Consider low-maintenance landscaping, which requires not much more water than nature provides. Called xeriscaping, the principles include               reducing the amount of lawn, making use of native grasses, shrubs and trees and mulching. Some plants requiring little water are shown at the left.

Water early in the morning (after the dew has dried) or later at night to reduce loses due to evaporation. 

Don't water the pavement and avoid watering when windy. Make sure sprinklers only hit the lawn or garden and stop when runoff or puddles occur. Consider a   mulch, bark, or rock area at least 8 inches wide adjacent to sidewalks and curbs. Wind causes water to evaporate quickly and blows water onto areas where it is not needed.

Sprinklers that lay water down in a flat pattern are better than oscillating sprinklers, which lose as much as 50% through evaporation.

Use shut-off nozzles on hoses - turn off the water when you are not using it.

Drip irrigation systems, which apply water only to the roots zone are the most efficient and work well around trees and shrubs. They permit water to flow slowly to roots, encouraging strong root systems and cut down evaporation.

Automatic Irrigation Systems can be set to water the lawn for a specified amount of time and can be adjusted according to the weather. This saves your time and waters the lawn evenly and efficiently. The District has provisions in place to increase your water allotment under certain conditions. Information and applications can be obtained at the District office.

Check for leaks in pipes, hoses, and faucets. Repair or replace any equipment leaking water.                     

Collect Rainwater. Any sloping surface such as a driveway and roofs are great sources to catch rainwater. Statistics say 1,000 square feet of roof or pavement can collect 420 gallons of water from 1 inch of rain. Store the collected water in a plastic or metal garbage can and siphon it off to water your garden.

When washing a car, fill a bucket with water and use a sponge. This saves about 300 liters of water.

Use a broom to clean the driveway and sidewalk. Sweeping the driveway and sidewalk will get them clean enough without wasting gallons of water.

Cover your swimming pool and recycle your pool water. .Covering a swimming pool will help reduce evaporation. A pool cover can cut the loss by up to 90%.

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Inside the Home

In the home, the prime area to target is the bathroom, as nearly 65% of all indoor water use occurs here.

Don't use the toilet as a wastebasket.

Don't let the water run when you brush your teeth, wash your face or hands, or shave. This can save 3 to 7 gallons per minute.

Check all faucets, pipes, and toilets periodically for leaks. A faucet drip or invisible leak in the toilet will add up to 15 gallons of water a day, or 105 gallons a week, which adds up to 5,475 gallons of wasted water a year. Once a year, check for toilet leaks. Remove the toilet tank cover and drip 10 drops of food coloring into the tank. After 15 minutes, check for color in the toilet bowl. If you see any color, your toilet has a leak and should be repaired immediately. Leaking faucets are often caused by a worn out washer that costs pennies to replace. Most hardware stores will have faucet repair kits with illustrations showing how to replace a washer.

Install a low flow toilet. Low flow toilets use only 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Using these could cut indoor water use by as much as 20%. Older toilets use 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush.

Install water saving shower heads. Low-flow showerheads deliver 2.5 gallons of water per minute or less and are inexpensive. Older showerheads use 5 to 7 gallons per minute. A quick shower also uses less hot water than a full tub.

Install high efficiency, low-flow faucet aerators. Older faucets use between 3 and 7 gallons per minute where low-flow aerators use no more than 1.5 gallons of water per minute and can be attached to most existing faucets.

Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting your tap run to get cold water when you want a drink.  

Fill your dishwasher full before turning it on. Your dishwasher uses the same amount of water whether it is full or just partially full of dishes, so be sure to fill it. Many dishwashers have a water saver cycle to save even more water.

Before rinsing, put the sink stopper in place instead of running the water. Running faucets waste 3 to 7 gallons of water per minute. If you need to use the garbage disposal, release the used sink water as the disposal is turned on.

Use the correct water level for each load of laundry.  Consider a front load washing machine  which uses 1/3 less water than a top loading machine.

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