Water covers three-fourths of our planet but less than 1% of it is available for human use. As pressures from population growth and pollution continue to grow, the cost of finding and purifying our water is increasing. Simple home conservation measures can easily cut your water in half and save your family hundreds of dollars in water bills. Here’s how:

In the Bathroom
More than 75% of our water is used in the bathroom. Toilets are the worst water guzzlers. Older toilets use 5-6 gallons per flush. Models built since the 1970’s use about 3.5 gallons. The best water saver for the bathroom is a low-flow toilet that uses on 1.5-1.6 gallons. It costs about the same as a regular toilet but it eventually pays for itself by reducing water bills.
Retrofitting existing toilets with new flappers – the rubber valves that seal the tank – also helps reduce water use.
Don’t leave water running while you brush your teeth, shave or wash your face. Fill the sink rather than use a constant stream. Breaking this habit can save as much as 2,000 gallons per year. The biggest consumer of hot water in your home is the shower. Older shower heads deliver up to 8 gallons per minute. Shop for a new shower head that puts out 3 gallons or less per minute, a total savings of 14,000 gallons per year. Water-saving shower heads are preferable to flow restrictions – restrictors may result in a weaker spray.

Clothes Washers
Front-load washers use 33% less water than top-load washers. For the average family of four, this adds up to a savings of 3,000 gallons a year. Be mindful of the water-level settings you use on the washer you have now. Don’t wash a medium load on the large load setting.

Dishwashing
Washing dishes by hand takes about 16 gallons of water. The same dishes can be cleaned in a dishwasher with 7-10 gallons of water.

Faucet Aerators
A faucet aerator can cut water use in half, and save up to 100 gallons a year per faucet. Aerators slow a conventional faucet’s slow down to about 2 gallons per minute.

Check for Leaks
On your next trip away from home, check for leaks in your water system. Write down the numbers on your water meter when you leave, check the water meter again upon returning. If it has moved at all, you have a leak.

Outdoor Water Use
Water your lawn and garden early in the morning. Watering during the day loses water to evaporation and watering at night may lead to fungus or mildew problems. For efficient and hassle-free watering, install trickle irrigation and timed sprinklers. Ground covers and other drought-tolerant landscaping methods greatly reduce summer water demand.