Water Conservation Tips

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Willie's Water Conservation Tips

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Water conservation involves using less water, as well as keeping our water and drainage systems as environmentally safe as possible. These suggestions are brought to you by your Rockford Water Division to help you get the most for your sprinkling dollar.
If you have a tip you'd like to share with us, please contact our Water Quality Supervisor, Nadine Miller, at 987-5713.

Indoor Conservation Tips

• Turn off the water when it is not being used (when you brush your teeth, shave, or rinse vegetables). Running water uses up to 5 gallons per minute.
• Check your toilet for leaks. Put about 10 drops of food coloring in the toilet tank (don't flush). If you see color in the bowl after 15 minutes, you have a leak that is wasting water.
• Fix dripping faucets and leaking pipes. Even a small leak can waste up to 20 gallons per day.
• Wait until you have a full load to run dishwashers or washing machines.
• Keep drinking water in the fridge rather than running the tap and waiting for it to get cold. Running water until it is cool can use up to 3 gallons of water.
• Taking a shortcut and using the hot water tap when cooking. That's taboo, and it can shortcut your health. Lead can dissolve into hot water from lead pipes and solder. Cold water is better. Heat it on the stove when cooking or making baby formula.
• Don't use your toilet as a waste basket - every unneeded flush wastes between 3 and 7 gallons.
• Using your garbage disposal all the time: Want to show good taste after a meal? Learn to compost. Your disposal uses one gallon of water a minute. Many foods can be composted instead, making a great soil conditioner. These foods include vegetable trimmings, egg shells, coffee grounds with filters, and tea bags.
• Hydrant Flushing/Flow Testing: After flushing in your neighborhood has been completed, is may be necessary to purge your internal plumbing. Running several cold taps at full force for a short period will usually flush out any discolored water in the home. If the water is not clear, wait for half an hour, and repeat the flushing process again. Running water outside through a garden hose is also an effective way to flush out your service. It also is a good idea to remove and clean out the screens on faucet aerators, which may have gathered particulate during the flushing process.

Outdoor Conservation Tips

• Use a broom to sweep sidewalks, patios, and driveways instead of a water hose.
• Use a bucket of soapy water when you wash your car. Keep the hose turned off except for rinsing.
• Plant shrubs and grasses that use less water. Add a layer of mulch around plants to retain moisture and discourage weeds. You can cut your yard watering up to 50 percent.
• Water your lawn at dusk or dawn. Watering your lawn at mid-day wastes as much as 30 percent due to evaporation.
• Check sprinklers to be sure you are watering your plants and lawn, not the house, sidewalk, or street.
• Lawn Watering
Morning is the best time to water lawns, and before 10:00 a.m. is the preferable time of the morning. If you water during the heat of the day, a lot of the water will be lost to evaporation. Early morning watering is also more healthful for your lawn because the grass leaves have a chance to dry quickly. Evening watering leaves the grass wet under cool, moist conditions in which lawn diseases develop rapidly. Early-hour watering also avoids scald damage resulting from the "magnifying glass" effect of hot sunlight striking water drops left on the leaves.
For best results, the soil must be moistened to a depth of at least 6 inches. Proper soil moisture can be maintained by applying an inch of water once or twice a week, depending upon the weather conditions. (You can measure the amount of water applied by placing a coffee can within the area covered by the sprinkler). If your soil is compacted so that it does not absorb the water readily, extend the watering time by moving the sprinkler back and forth over the area. Puddles indicate you are applying the water faster than the soil can absorb it.
Frequent light sprinkling is the least effective way to water and can actually be harmful to your lawn. Watering which fails to provide deep moisture penetration encourages shallow rooting, making your lawn less drought resistant and subject to weed development and insect damage.

Discarding items

• Tossing toxics in the trash:How tacky! Consider batteries, a common throw-away. They contain lead and mercury. Some ordinary household cleaners have other poisons that contaminate water. Here's a tip, drop them off at a special collection site.
• Don't use your toilet as a waste basket - every unneeded flush wastes between 3 and 7 gallons.

Click here for more trash information.

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Director
Timothy S. Hanson

425 East State Street
Rockford, IL 61104
Phone: (815) 987-5570
TDD: (815) 987-3083
Fax: (815) 967-6942

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