It’s no surprise that water conservation plays an important role in the long-term environmental health and sustainability of metro Phoenix. Reducing your water usage will not only help the environment, it will also help your wallet! A win-win no matter how you look at it.
Here are some tips and tricks to lower your water usage that range from free and easy, to big and expensive.
Start Small
Leaks
Checking around your home for leaks is a great place to start when looking to lower your water consumption. Even a small leak can add up to hundreds if not thousands of gallons wasted each year.
Be sure to check water fixtures both above and below the counter and make sure your toilet isn’t running. You can perform these same leak checks for water systems outside as well! Sometimes all it takes is a quick tightening of a connection to stop a leak, while others may require a bit more work to fix.
Irrigation fittings
Using pressure compensated irrigation fittings is good for two reasons. One: it allows you to more closely regulate how much water is being delivered to your plants and two.
Replacing your drip fittings is a quick fix that, depending on how many you’re replacing, will only cost a few dollars.
Be mindful of water usage
Turning off the water while you brush your teeth, only running the dishwasher when it is full and taking fewer baths are all great ways to limit your water usage. As an extra bonus, you can collect the running shower water while you wait for it to warm up and use it elsewhere.
Additionally, consider purchasing WaterSense certified showerheads. They can be a bit pricey, but they will significantly reduce water usage while showering.
Also consider adjusting how much water you use to irrigate based on the season. Plants need significantly less water in the winter than they do in the blazing hot summers. Luckily, many irrigation timers include a seasonal adjust setting that will automatically reduce water usage during the cooler months.
The bigger picture
Cut out the grass
One of the best ways to conserve water is to get rid of that lawn! Watering a lawn uses a significant amount of water. Instead, why not consider some beautiful drought resistant native plants instead?
The benefits here are two-fold: not only will you lower your water bill, but you’ll be providing a habitat for native pollinators and birds! What’s not to love?
Water from the sky
Collecting rainwater can net you a few thousand gallons of water each year! The collection methods can be as simple as a swale (a shallow channel) filled with plants to soak up the water when it rains, or as complicated as multi-thousand dollar rain harvesting apparatuses.
Whichever your path, the collected water is great for irrigation either for landscaping, fruiting trees or a backyard vegetable garden!
Rip out the pool!
This may be a hard sell for some, but removing your pool will save you money on operating costs and lower your water bill. Of course, removing a pool can be very expensive, but depending on where you live, some valley cities offer a rebate.
Conclusion
Water is a precious commodity in the Valley of the Sun and finding ways to reduce how much you use will save you money and limit the environmental impact.
Whether it’s something small like checking around the house for leaks, or something more drastic like installing a rainwater capture system, every little bit helps.
Do you have any water saving tips that weren’t mentioned here? Share them with the community in the comments below!
Leave a Reply