Water Use: Drop It When It’s Hot

When the mercury rises on your thermometer, so does your water use. “Peak” water use describes the time of year when residential water use is at its highest, usually in late July or early August, depending on where you live. From lawn watering to car washing to filling backyard pools to even washing beach towels more frequently—it all adds up to about four times as much water or more than you use the rest of the year!

Why Should Peak Water Use Matter to Me?

In addition to putting a strain on local water supplies, peak water use can hurt your wallet; some utilities charge more per gallon during peak season or add a “summer overage” fee to compensate for heavier demands on supply and to encourage efficiency. The good news is WaterSense has strategies to help you beat the water use peak in the heat and keep down utility costs.

How Can I Beat the Peak?

We can all reduce our peak water use by watering only as needed, washing full loads of laundry, and using more efficient plumbing fixtures. In fact, WaterSense labeled toilets and faucets helped consumers save more than 9.3 billion gallons of water and more than $55 million in water and sewer bills in 2008 alone. The WaterSense label is an easy way to identify plumbing fixtures that use at least 20 percent less water, even during peak water use season. Here are some more facts and tactics to try:

• The average American home uses about 260 gallons of water per day; however, during peak season the average household can use about 1,000 gallons of water in a day. Some homes use as much as 3,000 gallons on a peak day! That’s equivalent to the water a garden hose left running for nearly 8 hours would waste.

• Water landscapes only when needed; very early morning or evening is best. Peak hourly use usually occurs between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., with a secondary peak between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

• Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes, and scrape dishes off instead of rinsing when loading the dishwasher.

• For a summer refreshment, keep a pitcher of water in the fridge instead of running the tap until it’s cold.

• Put your favorite handy person to work fixing leaks around the home, which can waste about 200 gallons per week.