I Just Gotta Tell Ya:
- You can save over 3.5 gallons of water just by recycling a single newspaper
- It takes 24 gallons of water to make 1 pound of plastic, meaning about 1.5 gallons of water are used to produce the average plastic soda bottle!
- Americans consume over 3.5 billion gallons of water every day to run our households
If you are in the same situation as we are in Southern California on the verge of water rationing, or already have water rationing- try checking out the Water Footprint Calculator from H20 Conserve. (It’s FREE) With the price of water going up, and fines going into place for overusing water, you might want to start now with a water conservation program.
I took the test (It is for households) and even though I conserve water, have WaterSense Faucets, a Dual Flush Toilet, Native Drought Tolerant Plants I didn’t fare as well as I thought! (See above Results) How I could save more is listed below!
- Your household uses over 15 gallons per person per day just for the laundry. Consider doing your laundry less often, and make sure that you only use your washing machine when it is completely full.
- Your household uses more than 1 gallon per person per day on the dishes, which is the national average. You may want to consider getting a low-flow dishwasher, and try to use fewer dishes when you cook and serve meals.
- By carpooling, riding a bike or public transit, or switching to a car with a higher MPG, you can save several gallons of water (and gasoline) each day.
- You eat meat and dairy foods like an average American, which means you indirectly consume over 1,000 gallons of water each day. By eating meat and dairy less often, you can reduce your water use by hundreds of gallons a day.
For More Information on Saving Water- H20 has some great tips or check out Green Eco Services– 50 Ways to Save Water
Fresh water reserve levels for Southern California have dropped significantly over the last few years. If you go to http://www.Bewaterwise.com, you’ll see how far our water reserve levels have gone down. They have a gauge on the site that looks like the fuel gauge in your car, but with three-color zones: Blue – good, Yellow – not good, and Red – bad. The needle on this gauge is dropping out of the blue zone and heading into the yellow zone which means Mandatory Conservation.
There are dozens of little things we can all do to save water and combat the water shortage situation we are facing in Southern California. If you go to http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html you will see a water saving tips page that lists Indoor and Outdoor tips and how much water is saved with each one. Things like turning off the water when you brush your teeth can save 3 gallons per day, and taking shorter showers saves 5 gallons a day! Check out all the tips on the site and pass it on to fellow Southern Californians!