Water Conservation
Alabaster Water Board recommends the following steps to help conserve water:
- Don’t over water your lawn. Only water every three to five days in the summer and 10 to 14 days in the winter.
- To prevent water loss from evaporation, don’t water your lawn during the hottest part of the day or when it is windy.
- Only run the dishwasher and clothes washer when they are fully loaded.
- Defrost frozen food in the refrigerator or in the microwave instead of running water over it.
- When washing dishes by hand, use two basins – one for washing and one for rinsing rather than let the water run.
- Use a broom, rather than a hose, to clean sidewalks and driveways.
- If you have a swimming pool, get a cover. You’ll cut the loss of water by evaporation by 90 percent.
- Repair dripping faucets and leaky toilets.
- Dripping faucets can waste about 2,000 gallons of water each year.
- Leaky toilets can waste as much as 200 gallons each day.
Water Use Statistics, Consumption and Conservation
- Approximately 346,800 million gallons per day (mgd) of freshwater and 61,200 mgd of saltwater were withdrawn during 2000 for use by the nation’s homes, farms, and industries.
- In 2000, the highest consuming states withdrew: California 51,200 mgd; Texas 29,600; and Florida 20,100.
- In comparison, the lowest consuming states withdrew Alaska 305 mgd; Rhode Island 429; and Vermont 447. (USGS)
- Americans drink more than 1 billion glasses of tap water per day.
- On average, 50 to 70 percent of home water is used outdoors for watering lawns and gardens.
- Daily indoor per capita water use in the typical single family home is 69.3 gallons. Here is how it breaks down:
USE
|
Gallons per Capita
|
Percentage of Total Daily Use
|
| Showers |
11.6 |
16.8% |
| Clothes Washers |
15.0 |
21.7% |
| Dishwashers |
1.0 |
1.4% |
| Toilets |
18.5 |
26.7% |
| Baths |
1.2 |
1.7% |
| Leaks |
9.5 |
13.7% |
| Faucets |
10.9 |
15.7% |
| Other Domestic Uses |
1.6 |
2.2% |
More Tips for Water Conservation
By installing more efficient water fixtures and regularly checking for leaks, households can reduce daily per capita water use by about 35% to about 45.2 gallons per day Here’s how it breaks down for households using conservation measures:
USE
|
Gallons per Capita
|
Percentage of Total Daily Use
|
| Showers |
8.8 |
19.5% |
| Clothes Washers |
10. |
22.1% |
| Dishwashers |
0.7 |
1.5% |
| Toilets |
8.2 |
18.0% |
| Baths |
1.2 |
2.7% |
| Leaks |
4.0 |
8.8% |
| Faucets |
10.8 |
23.9% |
| Other Domestic Uses |
1.6 |
3.4% |
- If all U.S. households installed water-saving features, water use would decrease by 30 percent, saving an estimated 5.4 billion gallons per day. This would result in dollar-volume savings of $11.3 million per day or more than $4 billion per year.
- Water-conserving fixtures installed in U.S. households in 1998 alone save 44 million gallons of water every day, resulting in total dollar-value savings of more than $33.6 million per year.
- Average household water use annually: 127,400 gallons
- Average daily household water use : 350 gallons
Please do your part to help conserve our most precious natural resource.
