Water-Energy Connection
Conserving water will lower your utility bills and greenhouse gas emissions. Delivering water to and from your home is energy intensive. Did you know 64% of the City’s total municipal energy use goes toward pumping, distributing, and disposal of water used in our Community? Letting your faucet run for 5 minutes uses about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours. In 2010, the 723 million gallons of water our community consumed generated 660 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. That is an annual emissions equivalent of nearly 70,000 gallons of gasoline consumed or roughly 120 passenger vehicles or the electricity use of approximately 80 average single-family households in the United States annually.
Reducing household water use will not only help reduce the energy required to supply and treat public water supplies but it can also help address climate change. In fact, if 1 out of every 100 American homes retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, we could save about 100 million kWh of electricity per year-avoiding 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. That is equivalent to removing nearly 15,000 automobiles from the road for 1 year! If 1% of American homes replaced their older, inefficient toilets with WaterSense labeled models, the country would save more than 38 million kWh of electricity-enough to supply more than 43,000 households electricity for 1 month.
It also takes energy to heat the water used in your home. By reducing the amount of water you use each day, you not only decrease the need to pump, transport, heat, treat, and dispose of water but you also save money on your utility bills!
Reducing Household Water
Reducing household water use will not only help reduce the energy required to supply and treat public water supplies but it can also help address climate change. In fact, if 1 out of every 100 American homes retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, we could save about 100 million kWh of electricity per year-avoiding 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. That is equivalent to removing nearly 15,000 automobiles from the road for 1 year! If 1% of American homes replaced their older, inefficient toilets with WaterSense labeled models, the country would save more than 38 million kWh of electricity-enough to supply more than 43,000 households electricity for 1 month.
Heating Water
It also takes energy to heat the water used in your home. By reducing the amount of water you use each day, you not only decrease the need to pump, transport, heat, treat, and dispose of water but you also save money on your utility bills!
Conserving Water
- Water your lawn only when it needs it. Step on your grass. If it springs back, when you lift your foot, it doesn't need water. So set your sprinklers for more days in between watering. Saves 750 to 1,500 gallons per month. Better yet, especially in times of drought, water with a hose. And best of all, convert your lawn to native plants.
- Fix leaky faucets and plumbing joints. Saves up to 600 gallons per month for every leak stopped.
- Don't run the hose while washing your car. Use a bucket of water and a quick hose rinse at the end. Saves 150 gallons each time. For a 2-car family that's up to 1,200 gallons a month.
- Install water-saving shower heads or flow restrictors. Saves 500 to 800 gallons per month.
- Run only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher. Saves 300 to 800 gallons per month.
- Shorten your showers. Even a 1 or 2 minute reduction can save up to 700 gallons per month.
- Use a broom instead of a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks. Saves 150 gallons or more each time. At once a week, that's more than 600 gallons a month.
- Don't use your toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket. Saves 400 to 600 gallons per month.
- Capture tap water. While you wait for hot water to come down the pipes, catch the flow in a watering can to use later on house plants or your garden. Saves 200 to 300 gallons per month.
- Don't water the sidewalks, driveway, or gutter. Adjust your sprinklers so that water lands on your lawn or garden where it belongs-and only there. Saves 500 gallons per month.