National Water Quality Month reminds us to take a moment to consider how important these water sources are, not just to humans, but to our entire ecosystem. Consider the little things that you do on a daily basis that could have a negative effect on water quality and try to make one small change.
One thing you may have heard is to never wash your dishes unless you have a full load, but dishwashers have become much more efficient over the years and the rules have changed. Contrary to popular belief, the dishwasher is designed to be more efficient than the way most of us wash dishes by hand. When you use your dishwasher every night instead of handwashing for just 10 minutes, you save 100 gallons of water a week. That’s over 5,000 gallons in a year or more than 80,000 glasses of water. (@cascade)
Along those lines, when it’s time to replace your appliances consider purchasing a high-efficiency washing machine and toilets, and be sure to check all faucets and toilets for leaks. If your home has one faucet leaking at a (very typical) rate of ten drips per minute, that one faucet is wasting three liters of water per day. That’s 90 liters per month and 347 gallons of water per year (@erplumbing).
Also, consider how your lifestyle affects what is going into the water. Avoid using pesticides and herbicides in your yard as they will eventually end up in our water supply. In addition, know where to take medicines, paint and motor oil to be recycled to keep those toxins from being dumped into the toilet, ground or poured into a storm drain. How to Recycle – I Want To Be Recycled
CLC is committed to making a difference every day to help to protect our most precious natural resource! đź’§
