Greenversations

The average family in the United States uses 400 gallons of water every day. We use it to cook, clean, drink, garden and for many other indoor and outdoor activities. Water is definitely an important resource to us all and is essential to our everyday lives. Unfortunately, to get this water to our homes it takes a lot of energy. Two to three percent of the world’s energy consumption is used to treat and pump water to our homes. And, the percent of energy that we need to treat and pump our water changes from region to region depending on how much the region consumes. In California, for example, about 20 percent of the state’s energy is used to treat and pump its water. Therefore, in order to conserve energy, it is important to conserve our water use within our homes. The EPA estimates that by practicing water conserving techniques, you can reduce your water use by 20–30 percent. By reducing your water use, you will be able to reduce your homes energy use and also be able to save some money and reduce your carbon footprint. And, it’s very simple to reduce your water use!!! Some simple things that you can do include:

• Listen for dripping faucets and running toilets. Fixing a leak can save 300 gallons a month or more.
• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and save 25 gallons a month.
• Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
• Find out more ways you can conserve water

Can you think of other things we can all do to conserve water? Be sure to let us know so we can all save energy by practicing water conservation.

About the author: Michelle Gugger graduated from Rutgers University in 2008. She is currently spending a year of service at EPA’s Region 3 Office in Philadelphia, PA as an AmeriCorps VISTA.

About the author: Steve Burton* the SW territory contact for Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.’s Private Label Program. Ferguson is the EPA’s 2008 WaterSense Retailer/Distributor Partner of the Year.

We have a two-person household in an average-size home in Oro Valley, Arizona. In November 2008 we discovered the guest bathroom had a slow internal leak caused by an aging fill valve inside the toilet tank. The only reason we thought to look for a leak was the spike in our water bill that month.

We found a slow leak inside the toilet tank in our hall bathroom. The noise was faint. If the fan was on or if you were not directly in the bathroom, you could not tell there was a noise coming from the toilet tank.

The impact this one slow leak had on our water usage/bill during November 2008 is below.

• Sept 2008 $41.97
• Oct 2008 $51.33
• Nov 2008 $148.30
• Dec 2008 $58.66
• Jan 2008 $33.64

This drove home how important it is to check/maintain water fixtures in our home to conserve water and save money. For about $15, we were able to fix a leak that was costing us $100 a month!

* EPA does not endorse any contractor, commercial service, or enterprise.

How do you know when a toilet is leaking? Faucets and showerheads will drip, which is a dead giveaway for a leak. But what about toilets?

Have you ever experienced your toilet “running” for a long time after a flush, or had to wiggle the handle to make it stop, or does it ever randomly “run” at night, even when nobody flushed it? A “running toilet” is a leaky toilet.

If you’re toilet is leaking, most likely it’s a bad flapper. If you look inside the tank, you’ll notice a ‘rubber stop’ at the bottom of the tank. This device is no longer creating a water-tight seal, and your toilet is leaking. To confirm, you can drop a couple drops of food coloring in the tank. If you see any food coloring leak into the bowl, your toilet is leaking.

You can purchase replacement parts for your toilet at any hardware store or home improvement center. This should stop the problem. And, these replacement kits are pretty easy to install.

However, if you’re taking the time to make this fix, you should check to see how many gallons your toilet uses with each flush. The federal mandate is 1.6 gpf, but if your house is old, or you haven’t remodeled in quite some time, chances are you have a toilet that uses 3.5 gpf or more. And that’s a waste of water - a waste of 2 gallons of fresh drinking water with every flush. If you have an old toilet, consider replacing it with a new, WaterSense labeled toilet. These new toilets don’t sacrifice design or performance.

To get some great information on new toilets, and what to look for, check out www.epa.gov/watersense/.

* EPA does not endorse any contractor, commercial service, or enterprise.

About the author: Steve Burton* the SW territory contact for Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.’s Private Label Program. Ferguson is the EPA’s 2008 WaterSense Retailer/Distributor Partner of the Year.

We have a two-person household in an average-size home in Oro Valley, Arizona. In November 2008 we discovered the guest bathroom had a slow internal leak caused by an aging fill valve inside the toilet tank. The only reason we thought to look for a leak was the spike in our water bill that month.

We found a slow leak inside the toilet tank in our hall bathroom. The noise was faint. If the fan was on or if you were not directly in the bathroom, you could not tell there was a noise coming from the toilet tank.

The impact this one slow leak had on our water usage/ bill during November 2008 is below.

• Sept 2008 $41.97
• Oct 2008 $51.33
• Nov 2008 $148.30
• Dec 2008 $58.66
• Jan 2008 $33.64

This drove home how important it is to check/ maintain water fixtures in our home to conserve water and save money. For about $15, we were able to fix a leak that was costing us $100 a month!

EPA does not