50 Ways to Save Water - Virginia Sole

50
WAYS TO
CONSERVE
WATER
Unlike energy, water is a tangible resource; we can control its
usage relatively easily. This is a good thing, given that climate
change, population growth, and other factors are forcing our rivers
to run dry and our lakes and water-table levels to drop. When it
comes to making a difference, the seemingly small steps that we
take toward reducing our individual “water footprints” (collecting
rainwater for plants, taking less-indulgent showers, even observing Meatless Mondays) become ever more important drops in what
is ultimately a single global bucket. BY V I R G I N I A S OL E - S M I T H
112 / WHOLELIVING.COM
CLEANING
1. DON’T USE YOUR
DRAIN AS A TRASH
CHUTE Toxic materials
THE AVERAGE
AMERICAN
HOUSEHOLD USES
350
GALLONS OF
WATER A DAY
like paint, oil, harsh
cleansers, and medications can eventually
make their way into
bodies of water. Contact
your local sanitation,
public works, or environmental health department to find out about
hazardous-waste collection days and sites.
2. TWEAK YOUR DISHWASHER SETTINGS
If you have the option,
use your machine’s
eco water-saving mode.
(While you’re at it, turn
off the dryer setting to
save energy.)
3. SKIP THE PRE-RINSE
Simply scrape and let
your dishwasher do the
actual cleaning.
4. SUPER SAVER
RUN FEWER, FULLER
LOADS This goes for
both the dishwasher and
the washing machine.
5. SUPER SAVER
CHOOSE EFFICIENT
APPLIANCES An Energy
Star washing machine
can save up to 18 gallons per load.
6. REUSE YOUR LINENS
Rather than grabbing
a fresh towel every day,
use the same one for
a week. You can also
extend the life span of
your sheets by swapping
out the pillowcases more
often than the rest of the
set. (They get the most
germy anyhow.)
10. PICK UP DOG POOP
Harmful bacteria from
poop can wash into storm
drains and pollute water
supplies, leaving us less
of the clean stuff to use.
7 CHOOSE A WATER- CONSC IOUS CAR WASH
Hosing down a vehicle in your driveway can use
60 gallons of water or more in just five minutes.
Professional car washes that have been certified by
the WaterSavers program use 40 gallons or less per
car and return clean water to the environment. Find a
location near you at washwithwatersavers.com.
8. BUY CONCENTRATED
CLEANING PRODUCTS
Along with containing
less water, these require
less packaging and less
energy to produce, says
Paul McRandle of the
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
9. DE-CLOG NATURALLY
Conventional drain
cleaners contain toxic
chemicals, such as
sodium hydroxide. Pour
equal parts baking soda,
white vinegar, and boiling water down the
drain. Let sit for half an
hour, before rinsing.
11. SUPPORT FORWARDTHINKING COMPANIES
Ford has committed to
reducing 30 percent of its
water usage per vehicle
by 2015. The company
also says that between
2000 and 2010 it reduced
its total global water use
by 62 percent (more than
10 billion gallons).
This fall, Method will
bottle its green cleaning
products in containers
made out of plastic collected from the ocean.
An Oakland, California–based company
called Fogbusters has
developed a way to
separate fat, oil, and
grease from wastewater
without using chemicals. Its clients already
include such big names
as Cargill and Cadbury.
WHOLELIVING.COM / 113
—ALEX PRUD’HOMME,
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
15
Check out your water
system’s Consumer Confidence Report, which
will detail contaminants
and violations of waterquality standards. (You
can find it at epa.gov.)
Private wells aren’t regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, so if you’ve
got one of those, you’ll
want to test it annually.
16. KEEP A PITCHER OF
WATER IN THE FRIDGE
If your tap water is drinkable, this is a less wasteful way to get a cold drink
than letting your faucet
run until the temperature
is to your liking.
17. SAVE PASTA WATER
Place your colander over
a bowl in the sink when
draining to save the
starchy water. You can
use it in the sauce or as
a base for soup.
18. REUSE DISHWARE To
cut down on the number
of items to wash, use the
same water glass all day.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT FILTER If your water report or lab
test indicates any unsafe levels of minerals, pesticides,
heavy metals, parasites, volatile organic compounds, or
bacteria, install a filter. Find models that meet health and
safety standards at nsf.org/certified/dwtu.
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19. DON’T DUMP KETTLE
WATER Only want one cup
of tea? Then heat exactly
that amount of water.
20. SKIP THE GARBAGE
DISPOSAL That food
sludge gets extracted
at wastewater treatment
plants and eventually
winds up in a landfill.
Plus, you’ll save on water
and electricity.
21. PREP PRODUCE MORE
EFFICIENTLY Instead of
cleaning your fruits and
vegetables by rinsing
them under a constantly
running tap, swish them
around in a bowl of water.
You can then reuse that
water for houseplants.
GARDEN
22. ADJUST YOUR LAWN
MOWER A taller lawn will
shade plant roots and,
as a result, hold soil moisture better than grass
that’s been closely clipped.
Keep your blades at least
three inches tall in the
growing season, and cut
them shorter in the fall to
promote fresh growth.
23. SUPER SAVER
HARVEST THE RAIN
Put a rain barrel below
your gutter downspout
and you’ll capture a little
more than half a gallon
of water for every square
foot of roof during a
one-inch rainfall—that
means a 90-square-foot
roof would completely
fill a 55-gallon barrel!
You can use that bounty
to water your garden.
24. SUPER SAVER
CHOOSE NATIVE PLANTS
Water used on lawns
and gardens accounts
for up to 40 percent
of total household use.
Select species that
are indigenous to your
area, and they’ll have
a much better chance
of thriving with what
Mother Nature provides.
previous page: photograph by Fraser McAlister/Getty Images. this page: photograph by Martyn Thompson/trunkarchive.com. opposite: photograph by Matthew Septimus
“RESEARCH- KITCHEN
ERS HAVE 12. FIX YOUR FAUCET
NOTICED A Attaching an aerator to
RISE IN THE your existing faucet can
you up to 500 galINCIDENCE save
lons a year. We particuOF CERTAIN larly like the Neoperl
DISEASES, 1.5 GPM Household AerESPECIALLY ator Replacement Kit,
BREAST AND which comes with four
aerators
PROSTATE replacement
and a durable wrench
CANCERS, for installation. $11, home
SINCE THE depot.com for stores
1970s, AND 13. SUPER SAVER
DOCTORS BOYCOTT BOTTLED
SURMISE WATER It’s not just about
THAT CON- all that plastic that ends
in landfills. “Three
TAMINATED up
liters of regular water go
DRINKING into making just one liter
WATER of bottled water,” says
COULD BE the NRDC’s McRandle.
ONE EXPLA- 14. DRINK TAP WATER
NATION.” (BUT TEST IT FIRST)
25
START SCHEDULING
YOUR SPRINKLER
No matter where you live,
you should never water
midday; you’ll lose too much
to evaporation. If you live
in a very hot and dry climate, water in the evening.
If your home is in a moist
area, do it in the morning
to avoid mildew problems.
WHOLELIVING.COM / 115
26
USE ORGANIC FERTILIZER Natural options (compost, bonemeal, peat)
add nutrients and promote healthy growth without exposing your
plants to the toxic chemicals found in conventional fertilizers, which
can seep into the ground and contaminate water supplies.
BOG OR
WOODLAND
PERENNIALS
CONVENTIONAL
TURFGRASS
TROPICAL
PLANTS
WILLOWS
WATER-HOGGING
PLANTS
WATER-SAVING
PLANTS
HERBS
NATIVE
GRASSES
SUCCULENTS
WOODY
EVERGREENS
Yes, they’re beautiful, but
annuals (such as petunias and impatiens) typically require more water
than most perennials.
28. SUPER SAVER
RETHINK YOUR LAWN
If you live in a dry climate, you’ll need a lot
of sprinkler activity to
maintain a huge grassy
swath. Consider replacing it with gravel, which
also reduces runoff.
29. MULCH Keep a two-
inch layer over your
flower bed to help your
soil retain moisture.
30. MONITOR THE
WEATHER ... Keep track
of how much H2O your
plants are getting with a
rain gauge (from $25,
gardeners.com), so that
you don’t do double duty
with the hose.
31. ... AND THE SOIL Insert
a trowel into your lawn.
If there’s moisture two
inches below the surface,
it doesn’t need water.
32. SWEEP UP Use a
broom instead of a hose
to clean your porch,
driveway, or sidewalk.
BATHROOM
33. CHECK FOR LEAKS
Put a few drops of food
coloring in your toilet
tank and check the bowl
after 15 minutes; if the
color has seeped in—
without flushing—you
have a leak. Fixing it can
116 / WHOLELIVING.COM
save up to 1,000 gallons
(about 200 flushes) a
month. Often, what’s
needed is a new flapper,
or “valve seal,” which
you can find in just about
any hardware store.
34. TURN OFF THE TAP
You’re probably already
careful about this when
brushing your teeth, but
what about while rubbing soap on your hands
or scrubbing a dish? If
you want to score some
major points, start taking
Navy-style showers:
Wet your face and body,
shut off the water as
you shampoo and lather
up, and then finish it
all off with a quick rinse.
35. SWAP SHOWERHEADS If the one you
currently have fills a onegallon bucket in less
than 20 seconds or drips
(wasting up to 90 gallons daily), consider an
upgrade. An EPA WaterSense–labeled model
could save more than
2,300 gallons annually
and conserve enough
electricity to power your
television for a year.
36. TWEAK YOUR TANK
Go a little MacGyver
on your toilet. Place a
plastic beverage bottle
filled with sand (or some
stones) to help weigh
it down inside your tank.
It will displace some of
the water, so you’ll use
less per flush.
NEARLY
TWO-THIRDS
OF THE
WORLD’S
POPULATION
WILL
EXPERIENCE
WATER
SHORTAGES
BY 2025.
37. SUPER SAVER
FIX YOUR TOILET...
If you have one that is
constantly running, you
could be wasting up to
a whopping 200 gallons
(or 40 flushes) every day.
38. ...OR GET A NEW ONE
When shopping, consider
only models that have
been given the WaterSense label. It certifies
that the toilet uses 20
percent less water.
39. SUPER SAVER
IF IT’S YELLOW, LET IT
MELLOW By making
it a new rule not to flush
every time, a family of
four could save 9 to 11
flushes—that’s 45 to 55
gallons a day!
40
KEEP A BUCKET
IN THE SHOWER
Collect that notquite-warm-enough initial
stream and use it later to fill
your humidifier. (Just take
the bucket out of the tub before you start sudsing up.)
opposite: photograph by Tosca Radigonda
27. DON’T GO NUTS
WITH THE FLOWERS
41
TAKE SHORTER SHOWERS
Shaving just one minute off
your typical time will save
2.5 gallons of water. Need
help? Try the Water Pebble
($10, uncommongoods.com).
Placed in your drain, it records your first shower as a
benchmark and then takes
a few seconds off each subsequent shower, by flashing
green, yellow, and red lights
to help you pace yourself.
WHOLELIVING.COM / 117
SHOPPING
42. READ LABELS Try
44
43. CALCULATE YOUR
WATER FOOTPRINT
Find out how much
water you really use—
both directly and indirectly—with the Water
Footprint Calculator
(h2oconserve.org), or
download the Waterprint
iPhone app (free, itunes
.com). Then let your results motivate you to act.
GO MEATLESS MORE OFTEN “Food accounts for at least half of your
water footprint,” says Kai Olson-Sawyer, a research and policy analyst at Grace Communications Foundation. “Eating less meat is the key
to reducing it, because of all the water needed to raise the livestock.”
Start by skipping red meat—it takes 1,857 gallons of water to produce
a single pound of beef. (Pork, chicken, and lamb require much less.)
GO TRUE BLUE IN THE GROCERY AISLES Ratings reflect the gallons of water used to produce
a pound of food or a glass of liquid, unless otherwise indicated. Source: waterprint.net
LOWEST WATER
FOOTPRINT
NOT TOO
SHABBY
WORST
OFFENDERS
TEA: 9
BEER: 20
SOY MILK: 49
LETTUCE: 15
WINE: 26
COW’S MILK: 53
TOMATOES: 22
COFFEE: 30
FRESH CHEESE: 371
CUCUMBERS: 28
EGGS: 44 (EACH)
CHICKEN: 469
POTATOES: 31
YOGURT: 138
FIGS: 379
STRAWBERRIES: 33
PEACHES: 142
OLIVES: 522
BEANS: 43
AVOCADOS: 154
GRAPES: 78
BARLEY: 156
PROCESSED
CHEESE: 589
APPLES: 84
TOFU: 244
BANANAS: 103
RICE: 340
118 / WHOLELIVING.COM
BEEF: 1,857
BUTTER: 2,044
45. SKIP DISPOSABLE
PLASTIC Bags, cups,
forks, and so on can
make their way to the
sea, contaminating
ecosystems and harming marine life.
46. REDUCE JUNK MAIL
About 28 billion gallons
of water are used to
produce all of that unwanted paper. Sign up
with dmachoice.org
to take your address off
direct-marketing lists.
47. BUY NEW CLOTHES
LESS OFTEN Either
purchase your duds
secondhand or choose
more durable items.
48. HANG ON TO YOUR
JEANS One of the big-
gest wardrobe waterhogs; each pair requires
2,900 gallons of water to
produce. When possible,
have yours mended by a
local tailor or send them
to denimtherapy.com.
sources for statistics come from the U.S. EPA, UN-water, UNICEF; photograph by Johnny Miller. opposite: photograph by Katherine Wolkoff/trunkarchive.com
884
MILLION
PEOPLE LACK
ACCESS TO
CLEAN WATER
(NEARLY
THREE TIMES
THE U.S.
POPULATION)
to avoid personal care
items that contain
sodium laureth sulfate.
“These become contaminated with trace
amounts of 1,4-dioxane,
a carcinogen that is
also a groundwater contaminant,” says Stacy
Malkan, a spokesperson
for the Campaign for
Safe Cosmetics.
49. CHECK THE TAGS
“If a garment has a ‘Cotton Made in Africa’ label,
the crops that went into
producing it were grown
using rainwater rather
than irrigated water,” says
the NRDC ’s McRandle.
A Global Organic Textile
Standard (GOTS) certification is also a plus; it
means the wastewater
was treated in a plant
after processing.
“GIVEN THAT
WATER IS
BOTH THE
MOST FAMILIAR
SUBSTANCE
IN OUR LIVES
AND THE MOST
IMPORTANT
SUBSTANCE
IN OUR LIVES,
THE REALLY
ASTONISHING
THING IS THAT
MOST OF US
DON’T THINK
OF OURSELVES
AS HAVING A
RELATIONSHIP
TO WATER.”
—CHARLES FISHMAN,
THE BIG THIRST
50
TAKE ACTION Contribute
your dollars or time
to one of these resultsdriven organizations:
The Sierra Club has
teams of Water Sentinels
who are dedicated to
promoting water quality,
education, and citizen
actions. Find one in your
area at sierraclub.org
/watersentinels.
The Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC)
is raising awareness
about stormwater and
roof-runoff issues, and
about how climate
change will impact our
water supply. Visit nrdc
.org/action to send letters
to your representatives
about pending legislation.
Wateraid America
improves access to safe
water, hygiene, and
sanitation in the world’s
poorest communities.
Learn how you can help
at wateraidamerica.org.