How to save water

Ranked #3,378 in Healthy Living, #62,307 overall

Water Conservation - How to save water

Do you need or want to conserve water for environmental reasons or to save on your utility bill, I hope to pass on some water conservation tips that may help. There is a lot of things that can be done to save on water use or to collect rain water.

Water Conservation and Our Earth

I think Earth will never run out of water. It is just that some area's go into drought conditions that can last from months to years as the water shifts somewhere else. The South East is in a drought period now with little rainfall to keep the level of reservoirs and lakes up to acceptable levels thus causing water restrictions. Southern California is also going into a drought. If you live in the Southwest, there is never much rain.

If you live in any of these areas or conditions there are ways to conserve and save water usage. We live in South Florida were we have been on water restrictions for some time. Now that the water use has dropped, the local Water District has lost profits, so they raised the water rates to make back their money. Of course, this has given us more incentive to conserve water use, and to collect rain water for watering our landscape.

Water Conservation Tips you can use

I found a plastic Barrel that stands about four feet tall, I don't know how many gallons it holds. I added a plastic hose bib about six inches up from the bottom so we could put a hose on it. The barrel sits up on blocks to get it off the ground. I put it under one of the gutter drops and one good rain fills it up fast. This gives water to use for the plants because we can could only water once a week (now it's twice a week). I have also bought some cheaper quality trash containers to catch water from other areas. With these we remove the lids when it rains and cover afterwards, I will be up-grading these to catch water from hoses that run down from the gutter. You can also find 5 gallon buckets placed around strategic locations to catch water which we transfer to the larger containers.

For every 1,000 square feet of roof area, 600 gallons of water flows off during a 1-inch rain! Thats a lot of water. There are commercially made containers and cisterns that catch water for drinking or other uses. You can get a diverter to direct the first of the dirtier runoff into one container, then switch it to divert the cleaner runoff to another container for drinking (you still may want to filter it or purify it).

Some useful links

Average temperatures and rainfall in US cities.
This will show the average rain fall in your area
Water Conservation Tips
Water conservation is the most cost-effective and environmentally sound way to reduce our demand for water.
25 Ways to save water
Even in areas where water seems abundant, water conservation is important.

Rain Barrel Water Collecting

You can find a variety of barrels for rain collecting
Loading

Soaker Hose System For Your Garden

You can run a soaker hose from the barrel to your plants for watering or just fill up handheld containers with rainwater from barrel to water potted plants. There is not much water pressure, just the weight of the water in the barrel. So, the lower the water level the less pressure from the weight.

You have Air conditioning? Put a container under the condensate drain to catch the water. Why not, it would be good to use on your plants.

Recycled Your Water

Another way to conserve and recycle is to use a large plastic bowl in the sink when you wash dishes and use the collected water outside. You can add it to your barrels or just pour it on your plants. Think of how much water goes down the drain.

When you brush your teeth or wash your hands or face over the sink, turn on the water only when you rinse. Use low flow type shower heads and again, turn the water on only to rinse. You can see a big savings from this method.

You can buy toilets that require less water for flushing. Or, like they used to say, but a brick in the tank so less water fills in.

Water Saving Shower Heads

Save extra with a low Flow Rate Shower Head
Loading

Tankless Water Heater

In our home, the water heater is at one end of the home and shower is at the other end. In the summer we use little hot water for the shower because the water can already be warm. In the winter the water is cold so we prefer the hot water. When you turn on the hot water it takes a minute for it to show up at the shower, the first water out is cold. That is alot of wasted water waiting for the hot stuff. We would like to change over to a Tankless Water Heater or Instant Hot Water Heater. The system would be installed at the point of use thus saving some on the water plus there is less electricity being used to constantly keep the water hot.

Tankless water heater info

On Demand Water Heaters Information
by professionalguy1 | video info

4 ratings | 13,137 views
curated content from YouTube
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
If you are looking for a way to help save on your electric bill, these may help.
How gas is made
Ever wonder how gas is made? Here is a brief run down on how crude oil is made into gas.

Take our Poll

Loading poll. Please Wait...

Thanks for visiting

  • drawnindigital May 22, 2012 @ 6:52 am | delete
    We just published a lens about ShowerSaint a Free water saving shower adapter on offer in the UK
  • Dirtfarming Jun 20, 2011 @ 5:44 am | delete
    Having a source of water other than from the city makes sense.
  • Rebecca Apr 2, 2009 @ 4:55 pm | delete
    Save rain water and save money by making your own catchment system. Pictorial construction guide, calculator, safety issues and more on my non-commercial website: How to Construct a Rain Barrel
  • shwetashah Sep 10, 2008 @ 4:47 am | delete
    Hey I also made lens on same topic. Drip Irrigation to Save water. If possible review it by giving comment
  • wstrauss73 Aug 30, 2008 @ 11:36 pm | delete
    I live in South Florida too so I know exactly what you mean when it comes to water shortage and drought season. Great Lens Tim.. 5-Stars

    Bill S. - Pressure Cleaning Techniques and Equipment

How to save water

Loading

by

Timbob

 Hi everyone, thanks for visiting my site.

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!