5 Ways to Save

In the average home, toilets are often the main source of water use. If you have a leaky or inefficient toilet you may be literally flushing money down the drain. Learning to take care of your toilet can add up to substantial water savings, and help keep your bill down.

A faucet leaking at a rate of just 1 drop per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year. That's enough water to fill four fire engines! Fixing those leaks can lead to huge water savings!

Another way to fix that faucet is by installing a low flow WaterSense aerator. They cost typically cost less than $5 and are easy to install.

Follow this link for a tutorial on how to fix a leaky faucet from Seattle Public Utilities:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax6psKAjStA 

Showering accounts for approximately 17% of water use in American homes. It also involves a lot of energy consumption, because every time you shower it takes energy to heat the water to your showerhead. To save money, energy, and water consider replacing your old showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model. By replacing just one showerhead with a  WaterSense labeled model , EPA estimates the average family can save 2,700 gallons of water, the amount of electricity needed to power its home for 11 days, and more than $75 in energy and water costs every year.  

Another easy way to save is to simply take shorter showers! Try to limit shower time to 5 minutes or less to see water savings.

Sure, some items like socks and underwear need to be washed after each use, but many items can be worn more than once before it needs to go in the hamper! By cutting back by one load of laundry a week you can save a significant amount of water and energy.  Energy Star  estimates that the average American household does approximately 300 loads of laundry a year. Always running full loads and setting the water level appropriately are also great practices to conserve water.

Switching to a more efficient washer can also really cut back on your water usage. Older top loading models use ~40 gallons of water per load, while newer more efficient models can use up to 30% less.

Use the  Water Hero Checklis t to learn more about ways to conserve water in and around your home.

Now that you've decided to take steps to conserve water, let your community know! Take the pledge and become a  Kentucky Water Hero .

Join communities across the state in celebrating Water Conservation Week in Kentucky! Cities statewide will be encouraged to work together to help save water and ensure that everyone has access to clean drinking water. Check back soon for more information.