Drought Conservation, Drought Hazard from Water Use

Examples of conservation measures include:

• Inspect all pipes and faucets for leaks, as hundreds of gallons or liters a day could be dripping away.
• Match the load setting on the washing machine with the amount of laundry to be washed. If your machine has no load selector, wash full loads only.
• Check toilets for hidden leaks. Tank-to-bowl leaks can waste about a quart or liter of water with each flush. Place a few drops of food coloring in the tank. Wait 15 minutes and see if the color appears in the bowl. If so, you have a leak. Make necessary repairs immediately.
• Wash the car with soap, water, and a bucket. Use a hose with a shut-off nozzle for a quick final rinse. Better yet, find out if your local car wash recycles its water. Then treat yourself to a car wash and actually save water.
• Install ultra low-volume toilets and low-flow shower heads or fill a plastic, one-quart or one-liter bottle with water and place it in the toilet to reduce the amount of water used with each flush. To anchor the bottle, partially fill it with sand or small stones.
• Use a broom to clean sidewalks or your driveway. Washing down these areas with a hose wastes water.
• Turn off the tap while you shave or brush your teeth and take shorter showers.
• Adjust sprinklers so only the lawn is watered and not the house, sidewalk, or street.
• Load the automatic dishwasher to capacity before running it.
• Water your lawn in the early morning and never on a windy day to avoid evaporation.
• Use two basins when washing dishes by hand, one for washing and one for rinsing, rather than a running faucet.
• Place a layer of mulch around trees and plants so more water can be retained.
• Clean vegetables using water in a pan and a vegetable brush rather than letting the tap run needlessly.
• Landscape using low-water plants and rock gardens to reduce the amount of lawn to be watered.
• Put a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator so the whole family can enjoy nature's thirst quencher without having to run the tap.
• Know how to turn off an automatic sprinkler system in case of rain.
• Defrost frozen food without running water over the packages. Place food in the refrigerator or defrost in the microwave.
• Install trickle-drip irrigation systems close to the roots of your plants.
• Clean greasy hands with a waterless hand cleaner.
• Use a soil moisture indicator to tell you when the lawn needs watering.
• Cover pools and spas to cut down on evaporation.
• Insulate your hot water pipes. Less water will be wasted before hot water flows.
• Recycle water from fish tanks by using it to water plants. Fish emulsion is a good and inexpensive fertilizer.

Drought