Harwich Water Department - Water Conservation & Protection

55 Facts, Figures & Follies of Water Conservation

23. Which is more water efficient, washing dishes in an automatic dishwasher or doing them by hand in your sink? It depends. But you can check by testing how many gallons a full sink basin holds compared with the 9.5 to 12: gallons dishwashing machines use during a regular cycle.
24. Instead of letting the water run in the sink when you want a cool drink, keep a jug or pitcherful cooling in the refrigerator. If you detect and dislike the taste of chlorine in your water, which is used by many communities for disinfection, an uncovered jug or pitcher will allow chlorine molecules to escape into the air, thus improving the taste.
25. Check every faucet in the house. A single dripping faucet can waste far more water in a single day than one person needs for drinking in an entire week. Don't wait to fix a drip. Do it now!
26. If you like to rinse off vegetables and fruits, stopper the sink instead of using running water. Stopper the sink when you wash dishes by hand, too; and when you're finished, turn on the garbage disposal as you pull the plug.
27. Here's a two-for-one idea if you have a fish tank in the house. When you clean the tank, use the dirty water on your houseplants. It's rich, in nitrogen and phosphorous, which gives you a nice fertilizer while you use the same water twice.
28. Check the water taps in your home to see if they all have aerators or spray taps. An aerator mixes air with the water, which not only cuts the flow but reduces splashing. The spray tap is similar, but also can swing from side to side like a tiny showerhead.
29. Select the appropriate water level for the size of your load of laundry. Most washers now offer preset water levels for small, medium, and large loads. Use full loads whenever possible.
30. Do you wash your car at home? Please don't let the hose run. Instead, wet the car thoroughly, then turn off the hose while you swab the car with soapy water from a bucket. Use the hose again for a final rinse. A trigger nozzle is best because it turns off automatically.
31. Sweep outside with a broom, not the hose. Yes, it's lots more fun using water, but just five minutes of hosing will waste, unnecessarily, some 25 gallons of water. Sweeping the sidewalk and driveway will get them clean enough.
32. What if there's a catastrophe? What if a water pipe bursts in your home? Do you know where the master shutoff valve is located? You could experience terrible flooding and property damage, not to mention immense water waste, if you don't locate the valve and mark it for quick identification. Be sure to show everyone in the family where it is.
33. When you walk on your lawn, do you leave footprints behind? That's a sign the grass needs water. It's too dry to spring back when you walk on it. Another sign is grass that turns a dull grey-green color. Give that off-color grass a good drink.