Reducing your water bill and being paid to do so.

     The news for the past several years have regularly indicated the water levels are dropping, the below normal rainfalls during some months, and the requests from government and private individuals to reduce water usage. Water is a precious resource that should not be wasted frivolously! Because of the need to reduce water usage to ensure all people will have an adequate water supply in the present and in the future, rebate and incentive programs have been instituted. Rebates are offered to replace older toilets with ones designed for low flow use at no charge to you or at a greatly reduced price (including installation). The old toilets will be picked up from your residence, at no charge, to be crushed to make new low usage toilets. Rebates may also exist for replacing the showerheads and the aerators in your faucets. Some areas of the country will provide a rebate for removing grass as long as it is replaced with lower water use plants. Contact your local water supplier for details about existing or future water conservation programs.

     Do not run the faucets and showers at full force and use them sparingly. Stop running the faucet while shaving or brushing your teeth, stop running the faucet at full power when cleaning dishes, use a flow adjuster for outside hoses, wash full loads of laundry, and use a low flow showerhead with a shut-off option to use during lathering. If your showerhead does not have a shut-off option, then simply turn off the water while lathering. Do not drain water from the faucet or shower while waiting for hot water. Instead, pour the water into a container other than the drain to be used for a later purpose such as cleaning, watering plants, laundry, or in the toilet basin when it is flushed. The list can continue endlessly, therefore use your own common sense.

     Purchase a front-load washing machine instead of a top-load washing machine. The initial cost is more, but the expense will be recouped due to the savings in water, detergent, and electric use.

     Learn ways to reduce the water use and needs for your landscape along with learning ways to use the water provided by nature. Two significant options is the use of a rain barrel to collect rainwater and the use of a micro/drip irrigation system to distribute water slowly and to specific areas. Contact your local water department, Extension Service, or Cooperative Extension Service for more information and seminars teaching you to better manage your landscape. The Extension Service is a government program established by Congress for the purpose of researching and disseminating information to the public based on research from an area land-grant university.

     Analyze the amount of water used to water your lawn to ensure you are not using too much or providing too little water to sections of your lawn. The amount of water used can be determined by placing cans (6-ounce tuna cans are the best) around your lawn. After your lawn is watered, measure with a ruler the amount of water in each can. Many lawns may only needs about 1/2" to 3/4" of water each week. Therefore, adjust the amount of time a particular zone is watered depending upon the measurements. Do not water your lawn during the heat of the day. The best time is a couple hours before sunrise when the temperatures and evaporation are the lowest. Depending upon the absorption rate of the ground, you may need to water your lawn for a smaller duration, wait half and hour or an hour and then water again. This way the amount of runoff is greatly reduced allowing the water to be used for it's intended purpose instead of water the surrounding pavement. Contact your local water department for recommendations for your particular area. Also, use a can or a rain gauge to measure the amount of rainfall for the week to determine if you need to water your lawn or not. No need to waste water and money when nature has already done the job for you.

     Analyze the amount of water used for different items in your house, such as: showering, laundry, dishwasher, car washing, etc., to determine if there are areas you can improve the water use. Simply note the outside water meter value before a specific item uses the water, then note the water meter value afterwards. You will be surprised how much water is used for different activities..

     Consider installing an additional water meter to measure the amount of water used for your landscaping. The reason is because many local water departments will bill you for the amount of water consumed and the amount of water disposed in the sewers. The water used for your lawn soaks into the ground and is never placed in the sewers. Therefore, why pay a sewage charge for that water. The expense may be cost prohibitive depending upon the size of your lawn. Analyze the amount of water used for your lawn comparing the sewage costs for the water to determine how long it would take to recoup the expense of adding an additional meter.

     Even though some people's water bill is included in their monthly rent or fees doesn't mean the water shouldn't be conserved. The cost of the water used may be spread among a large group, but eventually the water used by the group will increase requiring a fee increase.

     You will save a little money, but most importantly you will save a lot of water that will help the environment!


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