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How to Conserve during Drought in Raleigh,NC Wake Co.

Drought prompts tips to cut residential water use

With the National Climate Data Center reporting a great portion of the contiguous United States is experiencing a moderate to extreme drought, the Partnership for Advancing Housing Technology (PATH) has collated information on simple and inexpensive ways to conserve water in and around the house.

To start conserving residential water use, install low-flow fixtures and Energy Star appliances wherever possible, PATH says. For consumers who don't like the feel of aerated water that reduces water flow or complain that it splashes, use laminar flow which significantly reduce water usage but still feel like a higher water flow.

Fixing leaky faucets and plumbing joints is another area where homeowners can cut their water consumption significantly. Just one leak can waste as much as 20 gallons per day, enough to do a load of laundry in an ENERGY STAR® washer. Use the American Water Works Association’s Water Wiser Drip Calculator to determine exactly how much water is being lost through a leak. The calculator can be found on the AWWA Web site at www.awwa.org.

In the kitchen
Ways in which water consumption can be reduced in the kitchen include:

• Use the least amount of detergent possible to wash dishes by hand, which reduces rinsing time.
• In double sinks, fill one sink with rinse water instead of running the faucet continuously.
• Use Energy Star dishwasher models and only wash full loads.
• Start a compost pile instead of running a water-consuming garbage disposal and you’ll save 50 to 150 gallons per month and create top-notch fertilizer for gardening.

In the bathroom
To conserve water in the bathroom:

• Replace five to seven gallon-per-flush toilets with a new low-flush or dual-flush model, for a savings of about 1,000 gallons every month. Many types of high-efficiency toilets are now available. For more information visit the National Association of Home Builders’ ToolBase Services Web site at www.toolbase.com.
• Check for toilet leaks by placing some food coloring in the tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak. Fixing a leak can yield monthly savings of 400 gallons.
• Install a hot-water recirculation system to prevent water running down the drain while waiting for hot water to arrive. These systems use sensors and a pump to quickly deliver hot water to the faucet while re-circulating the cooled water in the pipes back to the water heater. The system costs less than $400 installed and can save a family of four up to 12,000 gallons of water a year, almost the equivalent of the amount of water a person drinks during his or her entire lifetime.
• Shut off the water when shaving and brushing your teeth to save more than 3,000 gallons per year.

Lawn and garden

To save water for the lawn and garden:

• Put a thick layer of mulch around trees and other plants to reduce evaporation and cut down on watering. This can save 750 to 1,000 gallons monthly.
• Collect rainfall in barrels or cisterns for later use, which significantly reduces the amount of tap water used to maintain the landscape.
• Water lawns wisely and in accordance with municipal water use guidelines. Grass that springs back when it is stepped on doesn't need to be watered. Automatic sprinklers should be turned off when it’s raining. Wind and excessive heat increase evaporation, wasting up to 300 gallons per watering for large lawns. The best time to water is around dawn, when it's still cool. Watering in the cool of the evening can foster overnight mold growth.
• Installing a “smart” irrigation system. Unlike simple timer-based controllers, “smart” controllers monitor site conditions – solid moisture, rain, slope, plant type and more – and the information they provide can be used to apply the right amount of water to maintain healthy growing conditions. Some systems use local weather station data and  others use sensors placed in the garden.
• Plant native species that have evolved and adapted to local soil and climate conditions; they will need less watering and weeding. You can identify plants native to North Carolina online at www.enature.com or www.wildflower.org.

To save water in the driveway:

• Sweep the driveway and sidewalk instead of hosing them off. Hoses run about 10 gallons per minute and using them for 15 minutes a week wastes 7,800 gallons of water annually.
• Use carwashes that recycle their wastewater.
• Wash your car at home carefully and in accordance with municipal water use guidelines. Direct rinse water onto the lawn to accomplish two chores at once. However, realize that even the most careful home car wash uses almost twice as much water as a commercial car wash – 80 to 140 gallons at home compared to about 45 gallons at the carwash.