The Nature Conservancy - JWN- Green Water Practices

Your Water Footprint

You can found you or your family's water useage impacts the world by visiting H2O Conserve's H2O Calculator.

More information on U.S. water use, school resources & tips also available.

More Water Saving Tips

Water - Use It Wisely - tips and Educational Resources

American Water & Energy Savers Tips

EPA's WaterSense is a great tool for those interested in purchasing water-efficient products.

Treehugger/Green Plant's How to Go Green: Water Guide

Take a tour of the H2O House - a fun site that can help you find where & how you can save water at home

Benjamin Franklin once said that only when the well is dry, will we know the worth of water. With the human population constantly growing, an even greater demand on our available water supplies can cause quite a problem. Before such a hard lesson is learned, there are small and tangible steps that each of us can take to help reduce our impact.

How Much Water We Use and How Much We Waste

Most Hoosiers don't give much thought to how much water we use in a day. With water available to us by just a twist of a faucet, why would we? Yet most of the water we use is wasted, and that is certainly something to think about.

According to the Indiana Water Resource Research Center (IWRRC), our state has a plentiful water supply. Over 35,000 miles of rivers and streams, 105,000 acres of public lakes, ponds and reservoirs and 59 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline provide Hoosiers with all the water we need. In fact, we can use over 10,000 million gallons of our ground and surface water every day.

Even in areas where water is abundant, water conservation is still very important. By conserving water, we can help prevent pollution in our lakes, rivers and watersheds - not to mention saving money on our utility bills. According to the American Water Works Association, the average American will use ~ 70 gallons of water per day, almost double that during the months we work on our yards and gardens. Yet most of this water is wasted, literally flushed down the drain. Here's how:

Water wasted by...
Leaving the faucet on while brushing teeth:       3-5 gallons
Leaving the faucet on while shaving:               8-10 gallons
Hand washing instead of using a dishwasher:    20 gallons
Running a washing machine that isn't full:     30-50 gallons
Letting leaky faucets drip throughout the day:    10 gallons
Letting a leaky toilet run throughout the day: ~500 gallons

By turning off the faucet while we brush and shave, only using our clothes/dish washing appliances when full and by fixing leaky faucets and toilets we can save a whole lot of water from being wasted. The more ways we conserve water, the better off we are when it comes to water pollution, healthy watersheds and a cleaner environment. By incorporating a few green water practices, we can conserve water while saving money and helping make a better environment.

Green Water Practices: Simple Steps to Save Water

The amount of water we waste can decrease by simple changes in our everyday routine. Here are just a few steps that will make you're life just a little bit greener:

Installing low-flow water fixtures and water/energy-efficient appliances significantly lower water usage compared to older, conventional appliances. Though appliances can be expensive, there are water-saving fixtures such as low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators for kitchen and bathroom sinks that are easy on the wallet.
Forgo the baths, taking showers will get you clean and save you water as showers use 1/5 of water it would take to fill up a tub.
Throw it in the trash! Using the toilet as a garbage can can waste an average of 6 gallons per flush.
Garbage disposals need lots of water to work properly. Instead of throwing food scraps down the drain, start composting. Bonus! Compost creates nutrient-rich humus that is great for fertilizing your plants and garden.
Dirty car? Take it to the car wash! Washing your car at home uses more water - between 80 to 140 gallons of water - while a commercial car wash averages less than 45 gallons per car.
Greywater - the wastewater from washing machines, showers, tubs and sinks - can be reused to water your backyard resulting in a reduction of fresh water use and strains on your septic system. Collecting rain water by placing containers at the end of each gutter is another great way to water your garden.
Use a broom, not the hose, to clean up your driveway and sidewalks. This can easily save you 80 gallons.