EPA is promoting water efficiency in the home by offering online information on saving water and reducing utility costs. This message is demonstrated via a virtual tour of an ideal water-saving home.
Using water efficiently can help improve water quality, protect valuable sources of drinking water, reduce the cost of drinking water and wastewater treatment, maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems and mitigate drought impacts.
Water efficiencies in the home can be improved by detecting and fixing leaky faucets, installing high efficiency clothes washers and toilets and watering the lawn and garden with the minimum amount of water needed. Fixing a silent toilet leak may save as much as 500 gallons per day.
Installing high efficiency plumbing fixtures and appliances can help a typical family of four reduce indoor water use by one-third, save about $95 per year on its water and sewer bill and cut energy use by as much as six percent.
Watering the landscape with an automatic irrigation system may likely be the single largest use of water in the home and can be dramatically improved by using proper irrigation and scheduling techniques such as cycling the sprinklers.
Using all of these techniques will also reduce impacts on rivers, lakes and streams.
Additional information can be found by visiting the Water Saver Home at: http://www.h2ouse.net. Visitors to the site will learn what they can do to reduce water use in the home by taking virtual tour of the Water Saver Home – developed by the California Urban Water Conservation Council in partnership with EPA.
Source: EPA
