Category: Water

Use cold water whenever possible

8/2/2024

Heating water requires a lot of energy; use cold water whenever possible, especially for short water uses such as handwashing. According to the EPA, running the warm water from your faucet run warm water for 5 minutes uses the equivalent amount of energy as a 60-watt light bulb that is left on for 14 hours.

The water heater is the second largest consumer of residential energy. When you run the hot water for a short time, such as to wash your hands, cold water replaces the water removed from the hot water tank, and the water heater must work to heat that water, even though you never felt the water run warm from the faucet. If you do not need hot water, just turn on the cold tap so that the water heater does not have to turn on unnecessarily. Taking shorter showers and washing laundry with cold water also saves heating costs and saves money too. Lowering the set temperature on your water heater reduces the overall cost of heating water.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Install a rain barrel

3/15/2024

Install a rain barrel to reduce storm runoff and to use as a water supply for outdoor watering needs.

During a rainstorm, rainwater seeps into the ground until the ground is saturated and the remaining water runs off into drains and ultimately streams and rivers. With the increase in impervious surfaces in cities, less water infiltrates during storms. The increase in runoff can overwhelm the storm sewer system and cause local flooding. Harvesting rainwater using a rain barrel reduces the harmful effects of runoff, and on-site use of captured rainwater reduces water treatment needs and reduces the use of potable water for residential uses.

Rain barrels are not difficult to install. Either cut a downspout to direct water through a screened opening on the top or install a diverter into a downspout that directs water through a tube to the barrel and allows overflow to continue through the downspout once the barrel is full. Make sure any openings are covered with screen to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water. You can even install a series of barrels, the next one filling when the previous one is full. A spigot near the bottom of the barrel allows you to fill a watering can or attach a hose. Placing the barrel on top of cement blocks or stand makes room for filling a watering can. This water should only be used for watering plants and is not safe for drinking without being treated first.

For more information, see this fact sheet.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

When running water to wait for it to warm up, collect it and use for other purposes like watering plants

2/4/2022

While waiting for the water from the tap warm up for your shower or to wash dishes, as much as 1 – 2 gallons of clean, potable, usable water rushes down the drain. Put that water to good use around the house! Catch the flow in a bucket or pitcher, and use it to water houseplants or an outside garden, or add soap and use it for mopping. You can even use it to flush the toilet!

Photo credits: Gosheshe, Flickr; Austin Kirk, Flickr

Reduce runoff by installing a rain garden

3/5/2021

Runoff from rainstorms can overwhelm existing storm drains and washes pollutants into waterways. The increase in paved surfaces decreases the ability of the land to absorb rainwater before it becomes runoff. You can help make a difference in managing runoff and improving water quality by installing a rain garden on your property.

From Pennsylvania Resources Council web site:
"Rain Gardens are shallow, planted depressions that absorb runoff from impervious surfaces and allow it to infiltrate into the soil. Rain gardens are designed to have a “bowl shape” or “dip” that retains rain water as it waits to be absorbed into the soil.

Rain Gardens are planted with deep rooted, native plants. Native plants are beautiful, hardy, and once established require less maintenance than a conventional lawn. Native plants provide food and shelter for a host of native birds, butterflies and beneficial insects.

Rain Gardens reduce the initial rush of water that enters a stream during rain storms by capturing and absorbing runoff from yards, roofs, and paved surfaces. Rain gardens can absorb 30% more water than a traditional lawn. Properly designed rain gardens drain in 24 – 48 hours, can filter many common pollutants found in runoff, and help to recharge the ground water supply."*

*prc.org/learn-act/watersheds-rain-barrels-rain-gardens/

Commercial car washes are a greener option than washing in your driveway because they treat and recycle waste water.

8/28/2020

Using a commercial car wash uses less water and prevents toxic runoff produced when washing your car at home in your driveway. An Earth Talk article on ThoughtCo.com points out that all the gasoline and oil that you wash off your car ends up in streams and rivers where ecosystems are impacted by the influx of these toxins. Commercial car wash facilities, on the other hand, send their wastewater to water treatment centers before being released back into water systems. In addition, "commercial car washes use computer controlled systems and high-pressure nozzles and pumps that minimize water usage. Many also recycle and re-use the rinse water."* Therefore, the total amount of water used is much lower per car than washing at home.

They also make suggestions for how to wash your car at home but reduce the toxic runoff. They suggest that "you can make your own biodegradable car wash by mixing one cup of liquid dishwashing detergent and 3/4 cup of powdered laundry detergent (each should be chlorine- and phosphate-free and non-petroleum-based) with three gallons of water. This concentrate can then be used sparingly with water over exterior car surfaces."* However, even with this formula, they state that it is best "to avoid the driveway and instead wash your car on your lawn or over dirt so that the toxic wastewater can be absorbed and neutralized in soil instead of flowing directly into storm drains or open water bodies."*

*Talk, Earth. "A Guide to Eco-Friendly Car Washing." ThoughtCo, Feb. 11, 2020, thoughtco.com/eco-friendly-car-washing-1203931

Photo by Michael, Flickr Commons

Turn off water while soaping

7/16/2020

The latest recommendation is to spend at least 20 seconds scrubbing when you wash your hands. Greenmatters.com author Carly Sitzer points out that a lot of clean water rushes down the drain during those 20 seconds. She reports that "on average, leaving the water running for the full 20 seconds while scrubbing, you may be wasting about a quarter of a gallon (0.2 - 0.3 gallons on average) each time you wash your hands."* Multiply that times the 10 or so times per day that you wash your hands, and that adds up to a lot of water. To reduce water waste, turn off the faucet while you are scrubbing your hands. She also suggests installing a water aerator on faucets with a high flow rate, such as in the kitchen.

*Carly Sitzer, April 1, 2020. Shutting Off the Faucet While Washing Your Hands Could Save Gallons of Water Daily. https://www.greenmatters.com/p/water-conservation-hand-washing

Photos by Susan O'Donnell

What not to flush down the toilet

10/9/2018

What to flush? Not tissues, pills, wipes of any kind, dental floss, contact lenses, tampons, condoms, cotton swabs, paper towels, or kitty litter. Waste management facilities can only handle human waste and toilet paper.

For more details, see this article in the New York Times:

Christina Caron, August 25, 2018, "Should I Flush It? Most Often, the Answer Is No", New York Times

--https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/25/science/do-not-flush-down-toilet.html

Drink Tap Water

8/30/2018

Stay hydrated the sustainable way - by drinking tap water.

Most bottled water is actually just tap water from somewhere else and may actually be subject to less strict quality control than the water from your tap at home. Because water is heavy, transporting it uses up lots of fossil fuels. Serving tap instead of bottled water is the sustainable choice.
According to a 2017 article in The National, “Researchers have concluded that satisfying the annual global demand for bottled water consumes the energy equivalent of about 160 million barrels of oil – up to 2,000 times the energy required to produce the equivalent volume of tap water.”

water your garden in the morning or evening

7/19/2018

Save water by watering your garden in the morning or evening to reduce evaporation.

If you water your garden in the morning or evening, when it’s cooler, you reduce the chance of the water evaporating before being absorbed by the soil and plant roots.

For more details, see this article on gardeningknowhow.com.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/water-plants-vegetable-garden.htm

turn off the faucet while brushing teeth

1/2/2018

Save up to four gallons of water by turning off the faucet while brushing teeth.

Colgate’s #EveryDropCounts campaign (Colgate.com/everydropcounts) points out that:

Brushing teeth with faucet running waste up to 4 gallons water.
Turning off faucet saves up to 2,920 gallons water per year.
If every American family pledges to turn off the water while brushing teeth, 10 trillion glasses of water per year would be saved.
One in 10 people worldwide lack access to clean water – almost twice the population of the US.

The US EPA describes how little of the water on Earth is actually available for drinking. Of all the water on Earth, "less than 1 percent is available for human use. The rest is either salt water found in oceans, fresh water frozen in the polar ice caps, or too inaccessible for practical usage. While population and demand on freshwater resources are increasing, supply will always remain constant. And although it's true that the water cycle continuously returns water to Earth, it is not always returned to the same place, or in the same quantity and quality."

The EPA goes on to describe how overuse of fresh water affects the environment: "Less water going down the drain means more water available in the lakes, rivers and streams that we use for recreation and wildlife uses to survive. Using water more efficiently helps maintain supplies at safe levels, protecting human health and the environment."

Sources:
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/everydropcounts
www.epa.gov/watersense/how-we-use-water

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