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From YouTube: EcoChat | Conserving Water One Drop at a Time
Description
Neil Weiss, Assistant Director at Ames Water & Pollution Control, tells you how you can conserve water in and around your home.
A
In
an
effort
to
promote
water
conservation,
the
Water
Pollution
Control
Department
launched
the
Smart
Water
campaign.
This
campaign
encourages
water
savings
by
bringing
water
education
to
the
public,
along
with
taking
parts
and
events
with
our
300
gallon
water.
Trailer.
Throughout
this
presentation,
we'll
discuss
ways
you
can
conserve
water
at
home
to
determine
how
we
can
conserve
water
at
home.
We
first
need
to
look
at
where
this
water
is
being
used.
A
As
you
see
from
this
chart,
toilets
are
by
far
the
highest
consumer,
followed
by
showers,
faucets,
washing
clothes
at
fifteen
percent
and
one
usage,
that's
surprising
to
most
people
is
that
leaks
account
for
eleven
percent.
On
average
of
all
the
water
used
in
a
home
on
average
toilets
have
the
highest
usage
accounting
for
approximately
23%
of
the
homes
and/or
water
consumption,
older,
inefficient
toilets
can
use
as
much
as
3.6
gallons
per
flush,
whereas
newer
low-flow
WaterSense
models
use
about
1.28
gallons
per
flush.
This
could
save
the
average
family
up
to
thirteen
thousand
gallons
per
year.
A
Toilet
leaks
are
very
common
in
homes
and
can
waste
as
much
as
200
gallons
per
day
many
times.
You
cannot
even
hear
the
toilet
leaking
to
determine
if
you
do
have
a
leaking
toilet
place.
The
leak
detection
tab
in
the
back
tank
of
a
toilet,
wait,
10
or
15
minutes
and
see
if
that
dye
has
moved
to
the
toilet
bowl.
If
it
has,
you
do
have
a
leak
old
worn-out.
Flappers
are
one
of
the
most
common
causes
of
leaks.
A
Replacing
one
can
be
fairly
easy,
and
if
you
do
it
yourself,
it
can
cost
anywhere
from
five
to
ten
dollars
as
a
reminder.
Do
not
use
harsh
cleaning
products
in
the
tank
of
your
toilet.
These
products
can
deteriorate
the
flapper
in
as
little
as
six
months.
Showers
have
the
second
highest
usage
in
the
average
home.
The
average
shower
lasts
eight
minutes
and
uses
18
gallons
of
water.
Reducing
your
shower
by
just
one
minute
can
save
as
much
as
550
gallons
per
year.
Try
using
a
shower
timer
to
reduce
your
time
in
the
shower.
A
Switching
out
your
showerhead
to
a
low-flow
model
can
save
close
to
3000
gallons
per
year.
Choose
to
take
a
shower
over
bath
as
bath
use.
Much
more
water,
showerhead
leaks
are
also
a
common
source
of
wasted
water.
Don't
ignore
these
drips.
The
showerhead
drip
drip
unit
n
drips
per
minute
can
be
wasting
as
much
as
500
gallons
per
year.
Sometimes
these
leaves
can
be
as
simple
as
tightening
the
showerhead
connection.
Fossick
strength
has
the
third
highest
water
usage
in
the
house
at
17%,
the
standard
faucet
uses
2.2
gallons
per
minute.
A
Older
faucets
can
range
all
the
way
from
3
up
to
7
gallons
per
minute.
Replacing
these
older
faucets
with
low-flow
models
can
reduce
your
usage
by
32%
as
with
toilet
and
shower
heads
leaking
faucets
are
common
source
of
wasted.
Water
leaking
faucet,
dripping
out
one
drip
per
second
to
waste
3000
gallons
per
year.
The
most
common
cause
of
leaking
faucets
is
worn-out,
washers
and
gaskets.
A
Phosphor
ER
kits
can
be
found
at
your
local
hardware,
store
for
$20
or
less
the
largest
water
savings
associate
with
Foxx's
is
to
simply
turn
it
off
when
it's
not
in
use
make
it
a
habit
to
turn
off
your
faucet
when
brushing
your
teeth,
shaving
and
washing
your
hands.
The
EPA
is
estimated
if
we
simply
turn
off
the
tap
while
brushing
our
teeth.
We
can
save
up
to
3000
gallons
per
year.
A
Practices
in
the
kitchen
can
contribute
tremendous
savings
and
water
use
when
meal
prepping
wash
fruits
and
vegetables
in
a
bowl,
rather
than
continuously
running
the
tap
when
washing
dishes
scrape
rather
than
rinsing
before,
placing
in
the
dishwasher,
the
Salone
can
save
up
to
20
gallons.
Instead
of
running
the
tap
to
use
the
garbage
disposal
try
composting.
Instead,
laundry
is
the
fourth
highest
usage
of
water
in
the
home.
A
When
upgrading
look
for
the
Energy
Star
label
to
save
an
average
of
6
gallons
per
load
or
2,000
gallons
per
year,
outdoor
watering
accounts
for
about
8%
nearly
50%
of
the
water
we
use
outdoors
is
wasted
due
to
inefficient
watering
ways
to
lower
outdoor
water
use
include
using
rain
barrels
and
knowing
when
to
water,
your
yard,
watering
midday
can
cause
the
water
to
evaporate
before
it
ever
reaches.
The
grass
roots
native
landscape
in
new
marine
gutters
can
also
help
with
outdoor
water
consumption.
A
Another
tip
is
to
not
mow
too
short,
leaving
your
grass
closer
to
2
and
a
half
to
3
inches
long
optimal
for
providing
shade
and
helping
the
soil
retain.
Moisture
grass
clippings
on
the
lawn
are
also
beneficial
to
soil
health.
These
decompose
quickly
and
create
natural
mulch
leaks
account
for
approximately
11%
of
wasted
water
in
the
home
and
about
10%
of
homes
have
leaks
that
wastes
90
gallons
of
water
or
more
per
day
nationwide.
Minor
household
leaks
waste,
approximately
1,
trillion
gallons
of
water
fixing.
A
These
minor
household
leaks
can
save
you,
one
dollar
for
every
10
dollars
spent
on
your
water
bill.
The
best
way
to
check
for
leaks
in
home
is
to
check
your
water
meter
once
located.
Look
for
the
small
dial
known
as
the
leak
detector
make
sure
that
no
water
is
being
used
in
your
house
and
take
a
reading
of
that
leak.
Detector
come
back
in
15
or
20
minutes
and
take
an
additional
reading.
If
that
dial
has
moved,
you
have
a
leak
and
you
need
to
address
it
during
this
time
of
year.
A
It's
always
a
good
reminder
to
protect
your
water
pipes
from
freezing
many
times.
When
you
leave
the
house
for
extended
period
of
time.
We
want
to
turn
down
the
heat
to
save
money,
make
sure
to
keep
your
heat
set
at
around
60
degrees.
Another
good
practice
is
to
simply
shut
off
the
water
when
you're,
leaving
your
house
for
extended
periods
of
time
remember
take
advantage
of
the
many
city
of
Ames
rebates.
These
include
rain
barrels,
native
landscaping,
rain
gardens
composting
and
soil
quality.
You
can
check
savings
website
for
additional
information
on
all
these.
Various
rebates.
A
I
also
encourage
you
to
check
out
the
water,
the
EPA
WaterSense
website,
as
well
as
the
Energy
Star
website.
Both
these
websites
is
where
I
got
a
lot
of
these
facts
that
I
shared
with
you
here
today.
They
also
have
a
list
of
all
the
models
that
satisfy
all
their
criteria,
so
really
good
websites.
Thank
you.