Make a Smaller Splash in 2008
 It's
time to put a fresh spin on the classic New Year's resolution. Rather
than pledging to shed a few pounds this year, resolve to cut down
on daily water usage. WaterSense can help you keep this New Year's
resolution: use our simple tips to save water in the kitchen, bathroom,
laundry room, and yard, and save some green for yourself and for
the environment. Even New York City's Times
Square is catching on  !
We'll offer more tips throughout the year, so keep watching and
saving.
In the kitchen…
Resolution. If you wash your dishes in the sink, fill
the basin with wash water, wash dishes in it, put dishes aside,
and rinse them all together at the end.
Savings. If every home in the United States that washes
dishes in the sink would do so in this manner, more than 100
billion gallons of water could be saved annually. |
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In the bathroom…
Resolution. Install WaterSense labeled toilets throughout
your home.
Savings. A household could save $90 per year in reduced
water costs, and $2,000 over the lifetime of the toilets.
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In the laundry room…
Resolution. Make sure to wash only full loads.
Savings. Eliminate one load a week and save
2,130 gallons of water annually.
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In the yard…
Resolution. Hire a WaterSense irrigation partner
to perform regular maintenance on your sprinkler system, and
grow your lawn greener than ever.
Savings. If you have a sprinkler system, this
could reduce the irrigation water you use by 15 percent or about
9,000 gallons annually—that's the amount of water that
would flow from a garden hose nonstop for nearly a whole day. |
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Explore the WaterSense Web site to learn how you can save
even more water in your home, and remember to check for updates
and more information about WaterSense
labeled products.
 Toilet
Selection Tops 100
In less than one year, more than 100 models of high-efficiency
toilets have earned the WaterSense label, offering water-conscious
consumers even more choices. These toilets have been independently
tested to use less than 1.3 gallons per flush—about 20 percent
more efficient than the federal standard—while offering equal
or superior performance.
WaterSense labeled toilets are available at a wide variety of price
points in a broad range of colors, styles, and models. A household
that replaces its older toilets with WaterSense labeled models will,
on average, save more than $90 per year in reduced water costs.
Additionally, in many areas, utilities offer rebates and vouchers,
which further lower the prices. View
a complete listing of WaterSense labeled toilets.
Following close behind are faucets: Since the newest WaterSense
specification was released in October 2007, more than 20 bathroom
sink faucets and aerators have earned the WaterSense label. WaterSense
labeled faucets and aerators will help reduce flow volumes by
more than 30 percent without sacrificing performance. Look for them
on store shelves in early 2008.
Partner Profile: Craig Borglum, Certified Irrigation
Professional
 WaterSense
irrigation partners know how to spread the word. Craig Borglum,
a certified irrigation designer and WaterSense partner in central
Florida with more than 25 years of experience, is doing all he can
to ensure that residents of his community, where water is in short
supply, understand the importance of efficient irrigation.
Besides running a successful irrigation repair service, Borglum
maintains a Web log, or blog,
focused on water-efficient landscaping
where he discusses many aspects of sprinkler systems and lawn irrigation
for the general public. On his blog, he promotes WaterSense principles
and supplies information on topics ranging from drip irrigation
and how long lawns should be watered, to more general information
about water use, water efficiency, news and trends in water-efficient
lawn care, and what droughts will mean for citizens in the coming
years.
Borglum also conducts free workshops for local homeowners that
cover topics including sprinkler head repair and replacement of
lawn sprinkler controllers. He offers free instruction on using
water wisely and maintaining efficient irrigation systems, especially
in times of drought. He also posts
videos of his workshops
online. These workshops are sponsored by the City of Ocoee, Florida,
Utilities Department and the Protecting Ocoee's Water Resources
Program and are hosted by local area libraries. Borglum filmed several
workshops in July 2007 for Smart Irrigation Month and plans to conduct
several more in February 2008 to prepare homeowners for spring watering.
As an irrigation professional and WaterSense partner, Borglum successfully
takes advantage of his position in the community to offer personal
advice and specific information about water efficiency to others.
EPA is happy to welcome Craig Borglum to the WaterSense program
and looks forward to working with him to promote water efficiency.
Drops to Watts: Have You Made the Water
Use—Energy Connection?
Did you know that if you install water-efficient fixtures
and appliances, not only will you save water, but energy as
well? It's no accident that PATH, the public-private Partnership
for Advancing Housing Technology, recently named WaterSense
labeled toilets among its Top
10 Energy-Efficient Remodeling Projects .
But how does saving drops save watts?
Although most people understand that heating water requires
energy, they don't always consider the energy it takes to
treat and deliver the water they use. In 2005, the nation's
municipal water infrastructure consumed about 56 billion kilowatt
hours of electricity—that's enough energy to power more
than 5 million homes for an entire year. Plus, as the demand
for water grows, water utilities must pump water from more
distant and deeper sources, which, in turn, requires even
more energy.
Conversely, while it takes vast amounts of energy to run
our water infrastructure, it also takes vast amounts of water
to cool power plants that generate our electricity. About
half of the water gathered in the United States from surface
and groundwater sources is used to cool power plants. On average,
each kilowatt-hour generated requires approximately 0.2 to
0.3 gallons of water.
That's why a simple, high-efficiency flush can really make
a difference when it comes to addressing global warming—the
less water we use, the fewer greenhouse gases will be produced
to generate electricity. Because WaterSense labeled toilets
use about 60 percent less water per flush than the average
toilet, installing them is a great place to start.
Even the simplest projects can yield big results. For example,
screwing on WaterSense labeled faucet aerators, which usually
cost only a few dollars a piece, can reduce a household's
water use by more than 500 gallons annually and save enough
energy to power a hair dryer for eight minutes a day for a
whole year. It's a simple equation: using less water saves
money, conserves energy, and ultimately protects both resources
for the future.
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| Updating an old, inefficient
toilet can avoid greenhouse gases much like carpooling
or riding your bike instead of driving. If one out
of every 10 U.S. households replaced their pre-1994
toilets with WaterSense labeled models, we could
save nearly 300 million kilowatt hours of electricity
every year—avoiding about 200,000 tons of greenhouse
gas emissions. That’s equivalent to removing
more than 34,000 cars from the road for a whole
year! |
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Heard Around the Water Cooler
Take a cue from one of your fellow WaterSense Current readers
and try this water-saving tip.
"When I'm waiting for my sink water to warm up for dishes,
I run the water into a pitcher and use it to water my houseplants.
If they're not thirsty, I just fill the pitcher and/or a water bottle
for later use."
— Kelli Zellner, from Elkridge, Maryland
Have a water-saving idea to contribute? E-mail it to us at watersense@epa.gov
with "WaterSense Interactive" in the subject line.
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