Small changes add up to big water savings

By Chris Clasby

Using less water is a good idea whether you’re trying to help your resident-owned community lower its operating expenses, you’re paying the bill yourself or you’re simply interested in conserving our natural resources.

To help you, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NH-DES) has some great fact sheets.

Just scroll down to the bottom section, Water Efficiency Practices, and click on the fact sheets that interest you. While it’s winter, you might consider starting with a use and conservation audit and the tips for reducing your indoor use.

You can also visit your favorite hardware or building supply store to find inexpensiveitems  to help you save water. Faucet aerators come in a variety of flow rates these days. You can probably reduce the flow of the bathroom sink from the typical 2.2 gallons per minute (gpm) to one gpm without any complaints. The kitchen sink may be another story, where you may need a higher flow rate to clean the dishes and keep the peace.

Lower-flow aerators can significantly reduce your water usage. And low-flow showerheads have come a long way since the days when they produced nothing more than a high-pressure mist that couldn’t even get the shampoo out of my hair! If you like hand-held showerheads, they come in water-saving models as well.

If you have an old, inefficient 3.5- or 5-gallon-per-flush toilet, but you don’t want to replace it yet, you can still make it more efficient. Replacing the old ball float with an adjustable fill valve will lower the water level in the tank and make room for those displacement bottles or dams mentioned in NH-DES’s fact sheet.

If you need to replace that “Old Reliable” washer that is no longer living up to its name, be sure to check out the new high-efficiency models. Prices for them are coming down, and they’re now available in top-loaders too!

And spring is just around the corner, so take a look at the fact sheet for reducing outdoor water use!

Chris Clasby is ROC-NH's program manager.

ROC-NH is a program of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, Inc. and a ROC USA ™ Certified Technical Assistance Provider

ROC-NH is a registered service mark of ROC USA, LLC