Household Water Efficiency
Residential water use accounts for 47 percent of all water supplied to U.S. communities by public and private utilities. Increasing water efficiency in this important sector can preserve more water for the environment and reduce water-supply, wastewater-treatment, and related costs for communities.
There are many opportunities to use household water more efficiently without reducing services. If your water usage is near the U.S. average, you can probably save a third or more of what you now use at home, cut your annual water-heating bill by $20–40 (up to three times this amount if you heat water with electricity), and in some cases save substantially on the cost of septic tanks, leachfields, and other capital items. And your efforts will benefit the environment and your community as well as your pocketbook.
The most cost-effective steps to improve water efficiency are also the easiest. First, fix leaks by replacing faucet washers and toilet flappers as needed (a slow drip or leak can easily waste more than 100 gallons of water a week). Replacing showerheads and faucet aerators with water-efficient models takes just minutes and will typically pay for itself within a year. Other steps to consider include installing water-efficient toilets, buying a water-efficient horizontal-axis clothes washer, and creating more water-efficient landscaping.
Still more water can be saved by recycling "graywater," switching to alternative toilets and wastewater treatment systems, collecting and using rainwater, and other measures that are more likely to be cost-effective when building a new home. Copyright 2008 Ronald Sauve All Rights Reserved This page was last modified on March 28, 2008 Bookmark this site! | Contact us to start planning your project now! We are a proud builder of ENERGY STAR labeled homes We are a member of the US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL We are a member of the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council We are a PATH Builder PARTNER We are a member of NAHB National Association of Home Builders   
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