Water-Saving Tips for Drought Times
I grew up in a house that relied solely on a 1,000 gallon tank of rainwater for our water supply. Once we ran out, that was it, and running out was a serious concern some summers, especially in drought years. (We ended up having to buy water to refill the tank on three occasions.) As you can
Posted — UpdatedSince water conservation has benefits even if you're not in a drought area, I thought I'd share some of our hard-earned conservation lessons with you.
The bathroom is a key area for water wastage, because, well, most of the functions that happen there involve water, starting with the toilet. Every time you flush, you're wasting potable water. Fortunately, there are a couple of options you can use to mitigate water loss. One is simply adding one or more bricks to the tank, which displaces water, forcing the tank to store less and thus use less with each flush. You can also install a dual flush mechanism, which uses less water when pulled one way and more water when pulled the other way -- and you might want to consider adopting the California aphorism "when it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down."
In the shower, greywater recycling is an excellent idea (you can recapture that sink water, too). If you can't afford such a system or it's not legal in your area, you're not out of luck when it comes to water conservation in the shower. You can capture cold water in a bucket while you're waiting for it to warm up (it feels dorky, but that water can be used to flush the toilet and water the garden!), and you can also consider installing a toggle showerhead. Use the toggle to turn the water off after rinsing, while you're lathering up and getting clean. Flip it back on to enjoy nice warm water to rinse off. You'll save gallons this way.
Plus, your city may offer assistance with purchasing energy-efficient appliances, especially in drought periods. Ask your plumber about various options.
Another area of high water use, the laundry room in general can be a big energy sink, between your water demands and the heat for drying and warming water (tip: consider using a laundry line in fair weather!). Make sure to use your washer settings correctly, including the setting for load size, encourage people to reuse items that aren't that dirty (yes, you can wear the same pair of jeans twice), pool laundry to make for more efficient loads...and consider a high efficiency washer. Used correctly, these washers use less water -- and like other washers, they can be connected to a graywater recycling system for even more savings.
You may also need to scale down the vegetable garden if conditions get dire, something we're considering doing this year, much to our regret.
Water in the early morning or early evening to reduce water loss through evaporation and give the water the best chance of seeping all the way through to plant roots. Mulch well to help plants retain water, and plant appropriately for the conditions; don't plant high-water plants in arid, exposed areas of the yard where they'll need to be coddled to thrive.
Be aware that in some regions, when drought conditions are declared, there are severe penalties for watering your garden at certain times, or at all. Make sure you know the rules!
Now, if you'lll excuse me, I'm off to stare fixedly at the horizon and cross my fingers for rain.