If being eco-friendly is important to you, trying to reduce your water usage is probably one of the ways you limit your impact on the environment. While some conservation methods are fairly obvious, such as taking shorter showers, there are many other ways to reduce your water consumption by a significant amount. Along with reducing your personal consumption, you can also take steps to support large-scale conservation efforts. Here are some easy ways to help the environment.
1. Upgrade Your Fixtures
Older faucets, toilets, and appliances can be extremely inefficient when it comes to water usage. Upgrading to modern versions can significantly cut down on the amount of water your household uses without reducing your quality of life.
2. Modify Your Landscaping
If you have a large lawn, chances are you have to water it to keep it nice and green. This can require a significant amount of water, especially if your grass, trees, and plants are not native to the local area. Changing your yard to a xeriscape and replacing non-native plants with local vegetation can reduce the amount of water you need to keep things looking nice.
3. Talk to Your Neighbors
If reducing the water usage of your home makes a positive impact on the environment, just imagine how much more could change if your whole neighborhood or city were to follow suit. Consider talking to your neighborhood group about cutting back on water usage in common areas.
4. Collect Rainwater Correctly
Setting up a rain barrel can be a great way to utilize water, but it’s not always the best choice. Before you create a rain-collection system, make sure it’s legal in your area. Even if it is, you may want to contact your county officials to ensure that collecting rain won’t negatively affect the local watershed.
5. Schedule Your Sprinklers
Watering your grass in the middle of the day can be wasteful in terms of water usage. The warm temperature and direct sunlight can cause a lot of water to evaporate instead of soaking into the ground. Watering in the early morning and late evening instead can be much more efficient.
6. Conserve Electricity
Reducing your home’s energy consumption can also help the environment in terms of water. Almost all types of power plants use large quantities of water for cooling, so reducing the load in the electrical grid can also limit the water requirements for power generation.
7. Install a Greywater Recycling System
Reusing greywater, which is used water that’s not contaminated with sewage, can be a great way to increase your home’s environmental friendliness. Greywater recycling systems can reroute water from your washing machine and other sources for use in non-potable applications, such as toilet-flushing water. Be sure to check if greywater recycling is legal in your area.
8. Get Involved With Conservation Organizations
You can contribute on a large scale by supporting environmental organizations. You can donate time or money to local recycling projects. Take the time to go out and clean up trash in your neighborhood or a local park. Research organizations such as the Cadiz Water Project to learn how they work and see if there are ways to apply those principles in your area. Inform your local government of what you learn about successful projects, and you may be able to implement similar steps in your area.
One of the most important ways to ensure the planet will continue to provide a healthy, livable space for future generations is to conserve water. There are several ways you can make eco-friendly decisions regarding water in your everyday life. Reducing your water and power usage, choosing the right plants for your climate, and supporting conservation organizations can all make a significant eco-friendly impact.