Water Conversation Tips

Keep in mind that water is a valuable resource that shouldn't be wasted. Your water is clean, safe and convenient, but you have to pay for its treatment and the system to deliver it to your home or office. By conserving water in your home, you also save energy needed to heat it or run appliances.

Reasons For Increased Water Consumption

• You have a larger number of people living in your household.
  
• During the summer, consumption increases due to outside watering of a lawn or garden, or an outside faucet may be left on.
  
• Unexplained increases can be caused from leaky plumbing - toilets, sinks, outside sprinklers, washers, hot water heaters, water softeners, etc.
  
• Toilet leaks are the most common and are hard to see or hear. A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water per day.

Never underestimate the amount of water that is consumed for normal, everyday tasks around the home. If you have an unexplained increase in water usage, call the City Office at (701) 662-7600, ext. 221 and they can make arrangements for the Public Utilities Department to come to your home to see if they can identify the problem.

Water Usage Statistics

According to the American Water Works Association, the average person in the United States uses about 70 gallons of water per day. An average household has 4 people, so the average house would use about 280 gallons per day. Here is how it breaks down:

• Showers - 11.6 gallons
• Toilets - 18.5 gallons
• Dishwashers - 1.0 gallon
• Clothes washers - 15.0 gallons
• Baths - 1.2 gallons
  
• Leaks - 9.5 gallons
• Faucets - 10.9 gallons
• Other Domestic Uses - 1.6 gallons
  

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.

Average Water Consumption Amounts

• Shower - 25-50 gallons (5-10 gallons per minute)
  
• Bath - 36 gallons (full tub)
• Toilet flush - 2-7 gallons
• Dish washing - 20 gallons (tap running)
• Automatic dishwasher - 12 gallons (full cycle)
• Clothes washer - 30-60 gallons (full cycle)
• Outdoor watering - 5-10 gallons (per minute)
  

Bathrooms

• About 75 percent of the water used in an average home is used in a bathroom and a lot of it goes down the sewer.
  
• If your toilet is from 1992 or earlier, you probably have an inefficient model that uses between 3.5 to 7 gallons of water per flush. Newer, high-efficiency toilets use less than 1.3 gallons per flush.
  
• Do not use the toilet to flush items that can go in a wastebasket.
  
• Repair leaky toilets! A major toilet leak can waste up to 200 gallons each day.
  
• Limit the length of showers, long hot showers not only waste water but also energy to heat the water. Install low-flow showerheads.
  
• Don't leave the water running while you wash your hands, shave or brush your teeth. The average bathroom faucet flows at a rate of two gallons per minute. Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth in the morning and at bedtime can save up to 8 gallons of water per day, which equals 240 gallons a month.
  
• A full bath tub requires about 70 gallons of water, instead take a shallow bath or take a five-minute shower it uses only 10 to 25 gallons.
  

Kitchens

• Be sure the dishwasher is fully loaded before running it.
• There is no need to rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.
• When washing dishes by hand, use two basins - one for washing and one for rinsing rather than let the water run.
• Don't let the water run while cleaning vegetables or other foods.
• Store drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting it run until it is cold.
  
• Defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator or in the microwave instead of running water over it.
  
• Repair dripping faucets. Small, continuous leaks will waste large amounts of water. In addition, leaks in hot water lines will waste heat. Leaky faucets that drip at a rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year.
  
• A garbage disposal requires a lot of water to operate properly. Only use when necessary.

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Laundry

• Be sure to have full loads, or use the automatic controls for smaller loads. Running the machine when it's full will save you time, energy and water.
• Use cold water for rinsing.

Outdoors

• Don't water on a fixed schedule or if rain is in the forecast.
• Water grass and plants only if they show signs of needing it.
• Don't over water your lawn. Only water every three to five days in the summer.
• To prevent water loss from evaporation, don't water your lawn during the hottest part of the day or when it is windy.
• Water slowly, as water applied to fast runs off into the storm sewers.
• When washing the car, use a bucket for washing and only run the hose for rinsing.
  
• 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.

Plumbing

• Install shut-off valves for appliances and fixtures in case a pipe blows out.
  
• Most importantly, check for a main shut-off valve that turns off water to the whole house, and make sure that it works.
  

Landscaping Tips

• Maintain a lawn height of 2 1/2 to 3 inches to help protect the roots from heat stress and reduce the loss of moisture to evaporation.
  
• Avoid planting turf in areas that are difficult to irrigate properly such as steep inclines and isolated strips along sidewalks and driveways.
  
• Promote deep root growth through a combination of proper watering, aerating, appropriate fertilization, thatch (grass clippings) control, and attention to lawn height. A lawn with deep roots requires less water and is more resistant to drought and disease.
  
• Mulch applied around planting beds aid in moisture retention, discourage weed growth, and provide essential nutrients as they decay. Mulches can also be used in areas not appropriate for planting. Materials can include bark, wood chips, pine straw, nut shells, gravel, crushed stone, or landscape clippings.
  
• Plant in the spring or fall, when watering requirements are lower.
  
• When choosing plants, keep in mind that smaller ones require less water to become established.
  
• Collect rain water in a barrel and use it to water your garden.
  
• Use porous materials for walkways and patios to keep water in your yard and prevent wasteful runoff.
  
• Plan your landscape such that plants with similar water requirements are clustered together.
  
• Designate zones for areas requiring frequent watering, occasional watering, and no watering at all such as decks and patios.
  
• Be sure to match plants to yard conditions such as sunny, shady, dry or damp.
  
• When creating a landscape plan, take into consideration how the yard will be used and how it can provide the greatest benefit with the least amount of maintenance.
  
• Proper soil preparation requires a combination of turning, aerating and enriching the soil with compost or fertilizer. A little extra work in the beginning will pay off with healthier plants that require less water to stay healthy.

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