Drought Resiliency in Home and Garden: Water Conservation Tips and Strategies July 19, 2014 Deborah Stanger Edelman and Linda MacElwee Mendocino County Resource Conservation District © 2014 Mendocino County Resource Conservation District

California Indoor Water Use Single Family Home: 47% of total household use Multi-family Units: 79% of total household use

Global Context: Household Use North Coast of California 115 Gallons per person per day Germany 32 Gallons per person per day The Average Backpacker 1-2 Gallons per person per day? Sources: California Dept of Water Resources 2009, The Guardian 2012

Household Uses of Water Source: American Water Works Association. (1999). Residential End Uses of Water.

Water Fixture Flow Ratings Residential bathroom faucets:2.2 gpm Water Sense/Energy Star1.5gpm Showerheads:2.5 gpm Water Sense/Energy Star2.0gpm Toilets:Pre gpf Current1.6 gpf Water Sense/Energy Star1.28gpf High Efficiency gpf

Reading Your Meter Second Reading – First Reading = Gallons Used 370, , = 1,000 gallons used

Water Conservation: Infrastructure Changes Understanding and Assessing Water Usage Detecting and Fixing Leaks Changing Hardware and Appliances Habit Changes

Water Conserving Infrastructure Find and repair leaks. Buy a front-load washing machine when you need to replace your old one. Install low flow shower heads and faucet aerators. Buy the most efficient toilet you can afford when replacing your old one. Place a plastic basin in the kitchen sink to collect water as it is used.

Drip Calculator Estimated Water Loss Through Leaks Drips per minuteGallons wasted per monthGallons wasted per Year , , , ,29615,768 #drips/minute x 4.3 = # gallons/month # drips/minute x 52.6 = # gallons/year

How To Do A 5 Minute Leak Check Turn off all faucets throughout the house (washing machine hook-ups, bath, etc.) to assure no water is running. Be sure to check that all automatic water users such as an irrigation system or an automatic ice maker are off. Watch the small dial on the water meter for three to five minutes. If it moves, you probably have a leak. Read your meter at night and again in the morning while the water has been off overnight to check for very slow leaks. If you have a water softener, check on a night when you are not recharging.

Facts If every home in California installed one low-flow bathroom faucet, it would save: 7 Billion Gallons of Water Annually $70 Million in heating costs Plus the energy and chemicals to supply, treat and retreat the wastewater.

Low-Flow Showerheads: Savings

Measuring Your Toilet

Water Saved With An Efficient Toilet 14,162 gal/yr

Dual Flush Toilet Converter

More Water Conserving Infrastructure Install an on-demand water heater beneath the sink. Cover your pool Evaporation can cause a 300 sq. ft. pool to lose 37 gallons on a typical July day and 1,122 gallons per month

Evaporation Rates in July 07/01/ /02/ /03/ /04/ /05/ /06/ /07/ /08/ /09/ Date / Time EVP PAN INCHES COYOTE (LAKE MENDOCINO) (COY) Elevation: 720' · RUSSIAN R basin · Operator: US Army Corps of Engineers Provisional data, subject to change. Query executed Thursday at 15:18:49

Infrastructure Pros and Cons Pros Save water without your having to think about it Save money in the long-term One-time fix Cons Can be expensive Require installation Doesn’t change habits

Weekend Checklist Use Home Audit Form to Assess Water Usage and to Check House for Drips Do A 5 Minute Household Leak Check and Test Toilet for Leaks To Buy: faucet aerators, low flow showerheads, new flapper for toilet, washtub for kitchen sink and bucket for the shower, egg timer, wood and chicken wire for a compost bin, cover for the pool

Weekend To Do List Install aerators and showerheads Install new flapper if needed For older toilets, place a volume displacement bottle in toilet tank to reduce volume per flush or adjust level of float. Place timers in bathrooms, plastic basin in kitchen sink and bucket in shower.

Water Conserving Habits: Easy If it’s yellow, let it mellow… Run the dishwasher and clothes washer with full loads only. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, and use a glass to rinse. Limit your time in the shower to five minutes. Keep a tub of water in your sink for rinsing dishes, washing vegetables, and more.

Would You Pour This Down The Drain?

How About These?

If It’s Yellow… A US family of 4 uses 881 gallons of water per week just to flush their toilet. If everyone in the US flushed one less time a day, we could save enough water to make a square mile lake that is four feet deep everyday.

Water Conserving Habits: Easy If it’s yellow, let it mellow… Run the dishwasher and clothes washer with full loads only. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, and use a glass to rinse. Limit your time in the shower to five minutes. Keep a tub of water in your sink for rinsing dishes, washing vegetables, and more.

More Water Conserving Habits Don’t use the garbage disposal! Composting saves energy as well as water. Use kitchen basin to scrape and rinse dishes prior to loading dishwasher. Instead of letting the water run to get cold, keep a pitcher in the refrigerator. Don’t wash clean or nearly clean clothes and dishes! Don’t use running water to thaw food.

Habit Change Pros and Cons Pros Free!! Can Be Done Immediately! Huge potential for immediate water use reduction! Saves You Money Cons Requires a Change in Habits Must be Done All or Most of the Time to be Effective

Habit Change Recommendations Pick 2 or 3 things to start. Don’t try to do it all at once. Make it easy: Put a timer in each bathroom and the washtub in the kitchen. Not flushing as often is an easy first step that has a big impact!

Contact Information Deborah Stanger Edelman ext 106 This presentation paid for with funding from: North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP)/Prop 84, and California Dept. of Conservation, Watershed Coordinator Program

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