There are many water conservation ideas that are easy to do and can save you money on your water bills. Water awareness can help prevent shortage and increase our ability to grow food and keep the landscape green. Here are several saving tips that you and your family can do at home.

1. Whenever you are washing dishes by hand, do not keep the water running while you are rinsing the dishes. Use one sink for washing and the other for rinsing.

2. Some air conditioners, ice-makers and refrigerators use wasted streams of water to cool. Think about upgrading to air-cooled appliances to receive a substantial savings on your water bills.

3. Move every sprinkler so it only waters the lawn and not the sidewalk, house or street.

4. Turn on the dishwasher and clothes washer only when they are full. This action can save you as much as 1,000 gallons of water per month.

5. Select low shrubbery or ground plants instead of grass for steep sloping areas and isolated parcels of land. This kind of landscaping can trap more water and help keep the ground moist.

6. Put covers on outdoor spas and pools. Be sure to look for leaks in the pumps.

7. Compost your disposable pieces of fresh vegetables instead of throwing them into a garbage disposal. Try to use the disposal as little as possible.

8. Start planting your flowers and scrubs in the fall. The fall receives more rain water and is cooler.

9. Keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator. This lets you use every drop of water for consumption every time someone goes to the faucet and lets the extra water go down the drain.

10. Let the children cool off during the hot months with a sprinkler located where the lawn needs watering the most.

In addition, it is a good idea to look for efficient water devices and home appliances. Often, these products are about 20% more efficient than other equivalent products. A lot of waste-water and water utilities give homeowners rebates for water-efficient fixtures and home appliances.

There are several factors that affect our water supply and are difficult to control. Climate change has decreased snow packs and helped produce higher temperatures. Growing populations have used more and more water. However, the consequences of limited water supplies can be less severe when homeowners join together to use water conservatively.

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