There are so many ways to reduce your water footprint, starting with making just a few minor updates in and around the home.
Did you know a leaky faucet can waste over 5 gallons of water a day?
Leaks around the home are one of the fastest ways to waste water, and fortunately, they’re one of the easiest to fix. Take a few minutes to tighten up your pipes, track your results, and you’re ready to enter our Family Leak Detector Challenge to win more water-saving supplies!
Once you’ve completed the challenge, move on to these other ways to save water:
Time your showers.
Showers are quickly catching up to toilets as the biggest water user in the house. A simple way to stay aware of your shower length is to use a shower timer. Enter to win a shower timer by joining our Family Leak Detector Challenge!
Choose environmentally safe cleaning products.
City wastewater treatment systems are unable to break down certain cleaning chemicals, some of which may damage natural ecosystems. Choose cleaners and detergents that are biodegradable and phosphate-free, looking at brands like Method or Better Life. Avoid microbeads, which are tiny pieces of plastic put into exfoliating scrubs, as they are not removed from wastewater and are eaten by invertebrates and fish.
Invest in water-conserving appliances, toilets and showerheads.
Updating to low-flow appliances with brands like Energy Star or WaterSense provides the most efficient use of water and will save you money on water and energy bills.
Just by switching to a water-efficient toilet, you would save 27,000 gallons of water and $230 per year.
Wash your water crafts.
We don’t allow visitors to bring their own water crafts to FortWhyte Alive to protect our lakes from invasive species. Outside of FortWhyte, waterways are connected, which makes it easy for unwanted invaders to travel to new areas. Be sure to clean, drain and dry your boat so you don’t bring hitchhikers such as zebra mussels to new water bodies. Keep an eye out for invasive plants such as purple loosestrife and replace them with native species.
Restore your riparian.
If you have a cottage or riverbank property, protect the ecosystem along the water’s edge. Planting willow, cattail, and cottonwoods are a natural way to help hold soil together and protect against erosion. Check out how we restored the shores of FortWhyte Alive by planting willow trees.
Water wisely.
When watering your yard and garden, use a rain barrel and water on calm evenings or in the morning to avoid loss to evaporation. You can enter to win one of our rain barrels by joining our Family Leak Detector Challenge!
Drink tap water.
Bottled water is often just filtered tap water, and the costs aren’t just to your wallet. The environmental costs of one just bottle of water are great — the manufacturing and transportation of one bottle of water requires on average three additional bottles of water plus ¼ bottle of crude oil.
Bottled water can be up to 2000x more energy intensive than tap water.
The great thing about saving water is that it’s good for your wallet and the planet. Whether you complete one or all of the tips above, you’re doing your part in creating e a cleaner world for all of us.