subject: Six Ways to Conserve Water at Home [print this page] Six Ways to Conserve Water at Home Six Ways to Conserve Water at Home
Water will cause wars in the next few decades. Even though over two thirds of the planet's surface is covered with water, only a tiny percentage of the planet's water is fresh and usable. Earth's water cycle is, for all intents and purposes, a closed system. A few desalinization plants do contribute a miniscule amount of new fresh water each yaer, but beyond that almost nothing is added to the available supply of fresh water. No new water enters the cycle, and, thanks to pollution, more water leaves the system than is desalinated each year.
No new water is created, but the human population expands constantly. The only way to make the world's water supply go further is to make more efficient use of it. Water conservation starts with you, in your home. If preserving water for future generations and keeping water wars at bay are not reason enough to inspire you to conserve, think about this: As water supplies diminish, water will become more expensive. Everybody wants to save money, and saving water means saving money.
Here are a few simple things you can do to conserve water at home:
Put a brick in the toilet reservoir. This saves about a quart of water per flush, at no noticeable performance cost in most cases.
If it's yellow, it's mellow. Flushing every time someone urinates makes little sense. Even one fewer flush per day can save hundreds of gallons of water every year.
Water the yard and garden after dark. If you water during daylight hours, over half the water can evaporate before it quenches the thirst of your grass and shrubs.
Go native. If you live in an arid area, consider planting native species in your yard instead of a standard lawn. This is called xeriscaping.
Fix leaks. That little drip is annoying, but it is also costing you a ton of water and money. One drop of water every three seconds, 24 hours a day, adds up to over 100 gallons wasted over the course of a year, and -- sadly -- most homes waste much more than that.
Shower like a sailor. On a ship, there is a limited amount of fresh, hot water so sailors learn to take quick, efficient showers. Wet yourself down, turn off the water, lather up, then rinse. If everyone in a family of four gets in the habit of showering this way, it can save thousands of gallons of water per year. Since shower water is usually heated, you will save on your gas or electric bill, too.
Water conservation is serious business. As mentioned above, analysts expect wars to break out over this issue in the coming years. In the Western United States, legal battles over limited water resources have been going on for decades.
If each of us does our part to conserve water, the children of today will thank us. Even if you don't care about the children, doesn't a lower water bill sound like a good idea?
