• Is your toilet a water hog? Replacing an old 3½- to 8-gallon-per-flush toilet with a new 1.28-gallon-per-flush (or less) high-efficiency model could save thousands of gallons per year.
• Do you have a leaky faucet? A little drip may not seem like much, but a faucet that drips just five times a minute may be wasting more than 200 gallons of water a year.
• Do you leave the faucet running when you brush your teeth? Turn it off to save 70 gallons per month or more. You can also install water-saving faucet aerators to further reduce your faucet water use.
• Do you like long showers? Even if you already have a high-efficiency showerhead, every minute you shorten your shower can save up to 75 gallons per month.
• Do you have an old washing machine? A high-efficiency clothes washer may use half the water and energy that a traditional washer uses. And don’t forget to only run full loads (in your dishwasher, too).

• How “green” is your garden? By using native plants — plants that are used to our climate you may be able to reduce your outdoor water use significantly.
• Does your lawn need watering? A good way to check is to just step on the grass. If it springs right back up, you may not need to turn on the sprinklers. When it’s time to water, do it at dawn or dusk to reduce evaporation.
• Have you checked your sprinkler system lately? A sprinkler system can waste water if sprinkler heads are broken, automatic timers are not adjusted for rain, or hidden leaks are not detected.
• Can you avoid getting out the garden hose? A hose can use 10 gallons of water per minute. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean patios, walkways, and driveways.
• Have a dirty car? Use a bucket of water instead of a hose to wash your car. Even better, take your car to a car wash that recycles its water.

It’s always been wise to conserve water in your home and garden, but conservation is more than just a good idea — it’s essential. We need to stretch our water supplies to insure that there is enough water to serve everyone who needs it.

One of the best places to make significant reductions in water use is in your garden. People who live in urban areas use about half of their water outdoors. In the summer, garden water use climbs even higher as the weather gets hotter and drier.

Fortunately, you can save water in your garden without sacrificing the quality of your landscaping. By taking advantage of efficient irrigation techniques and using ornamental plants and ground covers that are suitable to long, dry summers, you can enjoy a beautiful landscape that requires significantly less water and maintenance than a less carefully designed one.

Planting Hints

• Whenever possible, plant only low-water and drought-resistant plants.
• Limit the amount of area devoted to your lawn. Lawns need great quantities of water, particularly in the summer.
• Wait until fall or winter to install a new garden. New plantings require more water than established growth.
• Keep low-water plants away from “thirsty” plants. Mediterranean-zone plants can suffer if they are over watered as you care for their neighbors.
• Keep shade plants in the shade. This will help prevent them from drying out.
• Place water-loving plants at the bottom of slopes, where they will benefit from water runoff.
• Include mulch around shrubs and plants to help reduce evaporation, limit weed growth, moderate soil temperature, and prevent erosion.

More Outdoor Savings

• • A good way to check if your lawn needs watering is to just step on the grass. If it springs right back up, you don’t need to turn on the sprinklers. When it’s time to water, do it at dawn or dusk to reduce evaporation.
  • Check your sprinkler system regularly. A sprinkler system can waste water if sprinkler heads are broken, automatic timers are not adjusted for rain, or hidden leaks are not detected.
  • A garden hose can use 10 gallons of water per minute. Use a broom instead of a hose to clean patios, walkways, and driveways. When you do need the hose, use a nozzle to increase pressure and decrease water usage.
  • Replace mulch around shrubs and plants at least once per year and remove weeds as needed.

Although apartments generally use less water than houses, in some ways apartment dwellers can do more to conserve water than homeowners. Think of it this way, if everyone in your building does a little something to save water, that small water savings is multiplied by the number of units. So if everyone saves just two gallons of water per day, your building may be saving 10, 50, or 100 gallons per day, depending on the number of units.

Some apartment dwellers pay their own water bills, and some do not. But whether or not you have an individual water bill, it benefits you to conserve water. Conservation helps keep water costs down, and water costs impact the price of necessities such as food (because farms use so much water) — and rent.

• Even if you already have a low-flow showerhead, every minute you shorten your shower can save up to 75 gallons per month. And remember, there’s power in numbers — if every apartment in a 15-unit building cut just one minute from their daily shower, that would be a savings of 1,125 gallons every month!
• Got a leaky faucet? Report leaks promptly to your building manager. A little drip may not seem like much, but a faucet that drips just five times per minute may be wasting more than 260 gallons per year.
• Do you leave the faucet running when you brush your teeth? Turn it off to save 70 gallons of water per month or more. You can also ask your building manager to install water-saving faucet aerators to reduce your faucet water use even more.
• See a leaky sprinkler? An apartment building is a community, and what affects the building affects the tenants. If you see a leak — from a broken sprinkler, washing machine, or pipe, for example — report it immediately to your building manager.
• See room for improvement? Your building manager should also be notified if you see other types of water waste. For example, it’s best to water lawns when the sun is down to minimize evaporation, so you should inform your manager if an automated watering system’s timer seems to be off. You should also bring to your manager’s attention old, inefficient washing machines, gardeners who use water to clean walkways instead of sweeping them, and other sources of water waste.