Water is essential to the health and vitality of Mid-Coast communities from Cascade Head to Cape Perpetua. By making water conservation a daily habit and upgrading water fixtures, we can help protect and conserve limited supplies of this precious resource.
Looking for more? Use this online calculator to estimate your water use in and around your home: watercalculator.org/wfc2
Indoor Water Conservation
Check out these tips for saving water in your home.
Water-saving tips for your home
There are lots of ways to reduce water waste at home. Try these simple steps in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom:
- Install water-efficient showerheads
- Install a water-efficient toilet or check for leaks with a dye tablet
- Install faucet aerators
- Look for the Energy Star label when upgrading appliances
Water-Efficient Plumbing
- Use water-efficient showerheads and faucet aerators (water providers may offer these for free to customers).
- Install water-efficient toilets that use 1.28 gallons per flush or less, or put a toilet tank water displacement bag or a sealed half-gallon jug of water in the tank of old toilets.
- Look for the Energy Star label when upgrading dishwashers, clothes washers, or other appliances.
Leak Detection
- Monitor your water use on your water bill for signs of unusually high use.
- Regularly check water fixtures for signs of leaks.
Plumber’s tape can help fix leaks originating in the threads of fixtures. - Check for leaking toilets.
Drop a toilet leak detection dye tablet in tank and check for dye in the bowl after 15 minutes of non-use. If you find color in the bowl, you have a leak.
Check with your water provider if they provide FREE toilet leak detection dye tablets to customers. - Read your water meter.
Check the meter before you leave the house for a few hours and when no water fixtures are in use. If the water meter number is different when you return, you have a leak.
Water-Efficient Habits
- Take short showers (less than five minutes).
- Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth.
- Only run full loads in the washing machine or dishwasher.
- Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator or microwave instead of under running water.
Think Outside the Box
- Install an on-demand water heater.
WaterSense
Find information about water-efficient products and other water-saving resources.
Outdoor Water Conservation
Check out these tips for saving water outside your home.
Water-Efficient Landscapes
- Landscape with plants that have low water needs, like native plants that often thrive with far less watering than other plants.
- Add a layer of mulch around trees and plants to slow evaporation.
Water-Efficient Irrigation Technologies
- Use drip irrigation or soaker hoses to water plants.
- Try a weather-based irrigation controller or water-saving system add-ons like a rain or soil moisture sensor.
- Use a hose timer if watering from the spigot, and a multi-spray hose nozzle or watering can when hand watering.
Leak Detection
- Monitor your water use on your water bill for signs of unusually high use.
- Check your hose connections for signs of leaks.
A new washer is often a quick-and-easy solution. - Regularly inspect and fix your irrigation system for issues like broken sprinkler heads, busted irrigation lines, or overspray or soaking to areas that don't need irrigation.
- Read your water meter.
Check the meter before you leave the house for a few hours and when no fixtures are in use. If the meter number is different when you return, you have a leak.
Water-Efficient Habits
- Only water your lawn when it needs it (use a weather-based irrigation controller or rain or soil moisture sensor).
- Aim sprinklers low to maximize water reaching plant roots.
- Water in the early morning and avoid watering when it’s windy to reduce evaporation.
- Set mower blades one notch higher since longer grass means less evaporation.
- Use a broom, not a hose, to clean driveways, and sidewalks.
- Don’t run the hose while washing your car. Better yet, use a commercial car wash that recycles water.
Think Outside the Box
- Install a rain barrel for outdoor watering.
- Plant a rain garden to catch stormwater runoff from your roof, driveway, and other hard surfaces.
WaterSense
Find information about water-efficient products and other water-saving resources.