Using water-saving techniques can save you money and diverts less water from our rivers, bays, and estuaries, which helps keep the environment healthy. It can also reduce water and wastewater treatment costs and the amount of energy used to treat, pump, and heat water. This lowers energy demand, which helps prevent air pollution.
It's not just the dry western areas of the country that need to be concerned with water efficiency. As our population continues to grow, demands on precious water resources increase. There are many opportunities to use household water more efficiently without reducing services. Homes with high-efficiency plumbing fixtures and appliances save about 30 percent of indoor water use and yield substantial savings on water, sewer, and energy bills. Start saving today.
Top Five Ways to Save
- Stop leaks.Check all water-using appliances, equipment, and other devices for leaks. Running toilets, steady faucet drips, home water treatment units, and outdoor sprinkler systems are common sources of leaks.
- Replace old toilets.The major water use inside the home is toilet flushing. If your home was built before 1992 and you haven't replaced your toilets recently, you could benefit from installing a WaterSense labeled model that uses 1.28 gallons or less per flush. A family of four can save 16,000 gallons of water per year by making this change.
- Replace old clothes washers.Washers are the second largest water user in your home. If your clothes washer is old, you should consider replacing it with anENERGY STAR certified clothes washer. Most ENERGY STAR clothes washers use four times less energy than those manufactured before 1999. To save more water, look for a clothes washer with a low water factor. The lower the water factor, the less water the machine uses. Water factor is listed on thecertified product list.
- Install WaterSense labeled faucet aerators and showerheads. WaterSense labeled products use at least 20 percent less water than standard models, while providing equal or superior performance. By installing WaterSense labeled faucet aerators and showerheads, the average family can save nearly 3,500 gallons of water and nearly 410 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
- Plant the right plants.Whether you're installing a new landscape or changing the existing one, select plants that are appropriate for your climate. Consider landscaping techniques designed to create a visually attractive landscape by using low-water and drought-resistant grass, plants, shrubs, and trees. If maintained properly, climate-appropriate landscaping can use less than one-half the water of a traditional landscape.
- Provide only the water plants need.Automatic landscape irrigation systems are a home's biggest water user. To make sure you're not overwatering, adjust your irrigation controller at least once a month to account for changes in the weather. Better yet, install a WaterSense labeled irrigation controller, which uses local weather and landscape conditions to water only when plants need it. Install a rain shutoff device, soil moisture sensor, or humidity sensor to further control irrigation.
For more information on how you can save water, visit EPA's Using Water Efficiently: Ideas for Residences(PDF, 995 KB).
FAQs
Using water-saving techniques can save you money and diverts less water from our rivers, bays, and estuaries, which helps keep the environment healthy. It can also reduce water and wastewater treatment costs and the amount of energy used to treat, pump, and heat water.
Why is saving water important? ›
We need to save water because we need it to grow food, protect aquatic life, save money and energy. Unfortunately, the water supply available on earth is limited. By saving water, we ensure that the groundwater is depleted and the environment is not degraded.
Why is saving water an important role in protecting the earth? ›
Conserving water saves energy. Energy is needed to filter, heat and pump water to your home, so reducing your water use also reduces your carbon footprint. Using less water keeps more in our ecosystems and helps to keep wetland habitats topped up for animals like otters, water voles, herons and fish.
What is the aim of water-saving? ›
Water conservation aims to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, protect the hydrosphere, and meet current and future human demand. It makes is possible to avoid water scarcity. It covers all the policies, strategies and activities to reach these aims.
What are the main points of saving water? ›
There are a few simple things you can do at home to ease the burden on your local water supply and save money in the process. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth. Only run the washing machine and dishwasher when you have a full load. Use a low flow shower head and faucet aerators.
What will happen if we do not save water? ›
There will be dry conditions leading to draughts. Lack of water to the plants will hinder their process of making food i.e., photosynthesis and this will cause innumerable problems like no food, oxygen, and no life.
Why is water so important? ›
Water is vital to our health. It plays a key role in many of our body's functions, including bringing nutrients to cells, getting rid of wastes, protecting joints and organs, and maintaining body temperature. Water should almost always be your go-to beverage.
How to save a water summary? ›
Don't let your water consumption run out of control. Save 6 litres of water a minute by turning off your tap while you brush your teeth. Fix leaky taps too – and stop what could be 60 litres of water going straight down the drain every week. Every minute you spend in a power shower uses up to 17 litres of water .
How much water is wasted every day? ›
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the average home wastes 90 gallons of water per day. That adds up quickly — 10,000 gallons of water per household per year, and over 1 trillion gallons if you tally the national average.
What do you mean by save water? ›
Water conservation is the practice of using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage. According to Fresh Water Watch, water conservation is important because fresh clean water is a limited resource, as well as a costly one.
The availability of freshwater will decrease by 33% within the next 50 years due to an astronomical growth in population and a giant flux in weather patterns. Wasting water has become a significant environmental problem. Because our water is a limited resource, we must conserve and protect it.
Why is saving water so important? ›
Using water-saving techniques can save you money and diverts less water from our rivers, bays, and estuaries, which helps keep the environment healthy. It can also reduce water and wastewater treatment costs and the amount of energy used to treat, pump, and heat water.
What is your role to save water? ›
Check for the openings or leaks in water distribution pipes. Make sure to use collected rainwater for gardening or washing purpose. Always have a measure of how many buckets of water is wasted in a day and try to reduce. Do not run more water than necessary while washing and cleaning clothes, utensils, etc.
What are the four importances of conserving water? ›
Water conservation helps in improving the quality of your drinking water. Saves money. Protects drinking water resources. Minimizes water pollution and health risks.
Why is it important to manage the water? ›
Good water management helps to reduce consumption and wastage which is becoming more relevant in line with climate change impacts. Communities, organisations, and individuals all have a responsibility to manage their water use to help create better irrigation control, cuts costs and wasted resources.
Why is it important to use water carefully? ›
That's why it's important for you to use water wisely and not to waste it. When you waste water, you're taking water that other people might need. But when you use water carefully, you leave more water for other people to use. It is also important to use water carefully because our weather can be unpredictable.
Why is water important to people? ›
Water is vital to our health. It plays a key role in many of our body's functions, including bringing nutrients to cells, getting rid of wastes, protecting joints and organs, and maintaining body temperature. Water should almost always be your go-to beverage.
Why should we save water essay? ›
We should save water from being polluted and avoid the mixing of industrial wastes into the water. There should be proper waste management system which must be followed by everyone. Clean water is very essential component of life, so we need to conserve water for the future safety.
