A Complete Water Management Guide for New Landscape

Tips to Help You Save Water

Wasting water is becoming a national crisis in the United States. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 80% of the United States is expected to have water shortages over the next decade. It is important for everyone to do their part to conserve water. Here are a few ways that you can save water in your household.

Fix leaks as soon as possible

A small leak may not seem like a big deal, but over time it can waste a lot of water. An average household with leaks can waste almost 10,000 gallons of water annually. Common leaks include the toilet, faucets, or pipes. The cost of fixing simple leaks are small and can save your family a lot of money on their water bill.

Minimize or eliminate waterfalls or outdoor fountains

Fountains can require a lot of water depending on what type of fountain it is, especially larger ones. A lot of the water gets wasted due to evaporation. A 75 square foot outdoor fountain, can lose up to 78 gallons of water a week due to evaporation. Spray fountains can lose even more water if it isn’t designed to catch all of the water that falls out of the fountain.

Use a community pool instead of building a private pool

Swimming pools use an excessive amount of water. Homes with swimming pools use more than twice as much outdoor water than homes without swimming pools. During warmer weather, evaporation becomes a big problem for swimming pool owners. An average sized swimming pool can lose over 79 gallons of water per day in hot weather. This excessive water use can be eliminated by swimming in a community pool. If you already have a swimming pool, using a pool cover could possibly eliminate up to 90% of evaporation.

Water your plants during the early mornings hours

Evaporation is a water culprit in more areas than outdoor fountains. If you water your plants during the day when temperatures are higher, some of the water can evaporate before your plants have a chance to use it. Try watering your plants when its cooler outside so the water won’t evaporate as much.

Choose plants that don’t require a lot of water

There are many beautiful plants that require little to no watering to grow. Some of them can survive off of a good rainy day every now and then. Having plants that don’t use much water can significantly reduce water consumption. Here are a few plants that use little to no water:

• Lantana grows best in heat and barely needs water 
• Bougainvillea thrives in extreme conditions 
• Rock Soapwart is best grown in almost neglect-like conditions with poor soil 
• Portulaca can survive for a long time with no water and poor soil 
• Lavender is great because it requires little to no water and excess water will kill the plant 
• Rock Daisy does very well with little to no water  

Collect rain water with rain barrels

Rain barrels are used to collect rain water. They can be set under the gutter system of your roof to collect runoff water. This water can be used for many different purposes such as your watering or caring for your lawn. Rain barrels come in a variety of sizes and are easy to use. They are estimated to save you at least 1300 gallons of water over the summer.

Cook with smaller pots

Many people use over-sized pots to cook small meals. While it is nice to have extra room in a pot for stirring and other things, it is a waste of water, especially if you are just going to drain the pot after the food is done. You can save water by using smaller pots or by putting less water in a pot when you are cooking.

Turn off water during certain activities

These activities include washing your hands, brushing your teeth, or washing your dishes. When washing your hands and brushing your teeth, you don’t have to run the water the entire time. The time that you use to lather up your hands is a time when water is being wasted. The same is true for the time that you are actively brushing your teeth. The water runs for no reason, which is a waste of water. Having the water running when washing dishes is also an excessive waste of water. If you have a double sink, you can fill one side with wash water, wash all of the dishes and sit them in the other side, and then rinse them all at once to save water. If you have a single sink, try using a “wash bucket” or “wash pot” and then rinse all of the dishes at once.

Author Bio : Sarah has loved gardening and nature since childhood. She loves to read about new plants and gardening tips. She works for “YourGreenPal” which helps you to quickly find, schedule and pay for Lawn Care Services.

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