Photo Credit: all-images.org

March 22nd was World Water Day, an increasingly popular day to celebrate and give us pause to consider our water use and conservation efforts. Water is a precious and limited resource. When severe droughts strike as they have in the past, we are limited in our use of city water. We can also choose to conserve water by voluntarily restricting our personal use of it. Some suggestions follow:

• While you run your shower to heat up the water, use a bucket to catch the water for later use (such as to flush the toilet or water the plants).
• Water flows from the faucet at about 2.5 gallons per minute; so, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth and turn it back on to rinse.
• The same is true with washing your hands, turn the faucet off after you have wet your hands until you need to rinse.
• Take your car to a car wash where the water is recycled; if you wash the car at home, at least be sure to turn off the hose when you are not using it.
• Older showerheads consume as much as 5 gallons of water per minute; purchase efficient showerheads and turn off the faucet when soaping yourself down.

Every little bit of effort to conserve makes a difference!