Saving Household Water

Only 4% of the water used in the United States is treated drinking water. Still, that's about 15 billion gallons of water each day passing through water treatment facilities or about 400 gallons per day for each household.

Very little of it is actually consumed as food or drink — less than 10 gallons on average per household per day. Most of what we drink is not tap water but prepared beverages bought at the grocery — including bottled water. Some household water, about 30%, is used in landscaping and gardening. But most is used for bathing, dishwashing and household cleaning.

Treated water is expensive because a lot of energy is needed to treat it and move it from its source to the treatment plan, then from the plant to your home. In the U.S. the electricity used to treat and pump drinking water would power more than 5 million homes for an entire year. Put another way, if you are in the habit of letting the hot water run while rinsing dishes, in five minutes you will have used enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 24 hours. In ten minutes you will have cancelled out all the energy you saved by replacing your old incandescent bulbs with the new energy-efficient compact fluorescent fixtures.

We use more water per person than any other people in the world. And in many places we are running out of it. Much of Nebraska relies on fossil water deposited millions of years ago in the Ogallala Aquifer. This water is largely not replaceable. A shallow layer of caliche that is practically impermeable lies over much of the aquifer preventing ground water from reaching it. Only 1 gallon is replaced for every 100 gallons used. So, once used, fossil water is gone forever. And it will be all gone in your lifetime — about 25 years. The EPA estimates that 39 states, including Nebraska, will experience regional or statewide water shortages by 2013. If you think the oil shortage is scary, wait for the water shortage.

We don't actually drink enough treated water to matter. So saving water is a matter of controlling how much water we use in cleaning and washing. Using water saving devices, we can easily reduce an average $500 annual water and sewer bill to $330 or less. It's worth doing for that reason alone.

Average indoor water use has been calculated fixture by fixture by the American Water Works Association. The toilet is the big offender. About 26% of our household water is literally flushed down the toilet. Washing clothes uses 22%, showering 17% and 14% is lost through leaks, primarily leaking faucets and toilets. Bathing takes just 2%, so if you prefer a bath to a shower, you are already saving a lot of water.

Fix Those Leaks

An astonishing amount of household water — water you paid for in cold, hard cash — just leaks away.

Some leaks are easy to detect. If you can hear your toilet running, it's leaking. If you shut off a faucet, but it still drips, you have a leaking washer or valve. A two drop per minute drip from a single faucet can translate into more than 4,000 gallons per year of wasted water. Fix or replace this faucet with a washerless, ceramic disk faucet for about a half century of flawless, leak proof, performance (For more information on faucet technology see Sources of Supply: Faucets).

Some leaks, however, are invisible. Toilets are particular culprits. Toilets, even new toilets, can have silent leaks caused by an improperly seating plunger ball or flap valve. These leaks are difficult to detect since there is usually no visible or audible sign of water flowing down the drain. If the toilet plunger ball or flap valve does not seat properly water slowly flows from the toilet tank into the bowl and into the drain. This type of leak can be detected by placing a small amount of food coloring into the toilet tank. Wait for about ten minutes without flushing the toilet, check to see if the food coloring appears in the toilet bowl. If it does then the toilet has a sneaky leak.

Another source of sneaky leaks is your house's service line from the water main. These leaks can be extremely difficult to detect but there are some telltale signs which may indicate that you have a leak in your service line. You should be be on the alert for:

• Wet spots in your yard around the water service line.
• The sound of running water or a hissing sound which persists even when water is not being used in the home.
• Water leaking into your basement or crawl space near the location of your water service line.
• A sudden loss in the home’s normal water pressure or flow.
• Water bills showing progressively higher water consumption, when in fact you are not using more water.

If you think you may have a leak in your service line, find and turn off the main shut off valve within your home. Place your ear on the main water line coming into your home. If you have a hissing or gurgling noise you almost certainly have a leak. To be absolutely sure, though, call a plumber to run a leak test. Water leaks in the service line on the house side of the meter are your responsibility in most localities. In Lincoln, however, you are also responsible for the water line from the meter to the water main connection (which is called the "tap"). The fix involves digging up the old line and replacing it. It is not going to be easy nor cheap.

Government Regulation

Whether you like it or not, your government is going to help you save on water.

The National Energy Policy Act of 1992 mandated low-flow toilets, faucets and showers. You cannot legally buy or install the older non-restrictive fixtures in the United States, so any time you update any faucet, toilet or showerhead you are automatically saving water. Older toilets used as much as 7 gallons per flush. The new ones cannot use more that 1.6 gallons by law. For shower heads, the federal flow limit is 2.5 gallons per minute (GPM). Many states and localities mandate even less — 1.7 GPM or less. Showers are a major user of water. Between 1950 and 2000 the average household increased it water use 300%, much if not most of this was due to the gradual shift from bathing to showering as a national practice.

Water-Saving Fixtures

Here are some specific water-saving fixtures. Keep these in mind when shopping for fixtures.

High-Efficiency Toilets

While 1.6 gallons is the maximum flow allowed per flush, there are more efficient fixtures. A toilet that uses 1.28 gallons or less per flush is considered "high efficiency". Look for Maximum Performance (MaP) test compliance or EPA WaterSense rated fixtures.

Low-Flow Faucets

To give you the feel of a full flow of water, but keep flow as little as 1.5 GPM, manufacturers have developed faucet and showerhead aerators. These add a measured quantity of air to the water flow that makes it feel "wetter". These are a very low cost fix. Look for low flow aeration in showerheads and most faucets. Faucets specifically designed to fill things, like pot-filler faucets, will not usually have them. But sink faucets should always incorporate low-flow technology.

Low Flow Showerheads

Adjustable low-flow shower head reduces flow to 1.85 GPM in low setting. A showerhead that allows a maximum of 2 GPM is considered low flow. A lot of showerheads are advertised as "low flow" at 2.5 GPM. This may have been low-flow 15 yeears ago, but not now. Many communities now restrict flow to 1.7 GPM or less and you can expect future regulations to require 1.5 GPM or less. To get a jump on the future, look at the flow information on the box. It it is 1.85 GPM or less, it is a good idea to give thought to buying it. Some showerheads feature adjustable flows: very low flow for showering and a higher 2.5 GPM flow for rinsing.

Where Does All the Other water Go?

If treated water makes up on 4% of all the water used in the U.S., where does the other 96% go?

Agriculture: Crop irrigation, livestock, and fish farming use 142 billion gallons a day. As much as half of this is lost to evaporation, wind, poor design and over watering.

Power Generation: Electricity generation uses 136 billion gallons of fresh water every day to cool power plants.

Industry and Mining: Water used in manufacturing and mining accounts for 20 billion gallons used each day. It also accounts for the majority of pollution in our streams and rivers.