Water: A Precious Resource
Water is fast becoming a scarce resource. In addition, water delivered by public water utilities requires much energy – moving water from reservoirs to destinations which often means multiple stages of pumping, treatment before usage and treatment after usage. In California, water service accounts for over 20% of the State’s electric usage. Hence conserving the use of water will greatly reduce energy usage as well.
The pie chart shows the national average breakdown of indoor water usage in a home. Landscape irrigation varies fairly widely from region to region. It can account for 15% to 60% of total residential water usage. In California, it is roughly 40%. Here are some areas to conserve water
- Fix all water leaks. One of the most common one is leakage from toilets. Changing worn out flaps is easy and effective
- Install low-flow faucets and shower heads – 1.5 gallons per minute or less
- Install low-flow toilets – 1.28 gallons per flush or less
- Install water efficient laundry machines
- Install on-demand hotwater recirculator
- Use drought tolerant plants in landscape; install smart irrigation and drip irrigation systems; use efficient sprinkler heads