General

• Check faucets and pipes for leaks and repair them if necessary. Turn off faucets securely when not in use, a dripping faucet wastes about 20 gallons a day, a small steady leak wastes hundreds of gallons a day every day.
• Letting water run from a faucet until it gets hot is a waste, capture the water for other uses like watering house plants, filling buckets for cleaning, etc…
• Serve water at restaurants by request only.
   

Bathroom

• Check toilet for leaks. Add a few drops of dye or food coloring to water tank and see if it appears in the bowl, this indicates a leak in the flap valve.
• Install a low flow toilet or add a water saving device to the water tank of conventional toilets. Install a plastic bottle weighted with pebbles to displace water in the tank thereby saving the bottle's volume of water with each flush. Don't use bricks or alter low flow toilets.
• Flush only when necessary. Don’t use the toilet as a wastebasket or ashtray, each flush uses between two and seven gallons of water.
• Install a low flow shower-head and keep showers under five minutes.
• Partially fill bathtub for bathing, a full tub uses about fifty gallons of water try bathing with ten gallons.
• Don’t run water unnecessarily. Turn off water after you wet and rinse your toothbrush and shaving razor.
   

Kitchen

• Install an aerator on the kitchen faucet if it doesn't have one.
• Prepare food efficiently. Wash fruits and vegetables in a bowl then rinse with short bursts from the sprayer.
• Prepare food efficiently. Wash fruits and vegetables in a bowl then rinse with short bursts from the sprayer.
• Don’t defrost food under running water, plan ahead by defrosting overnight in the refrigerator or by using the microwave oven.
• Run automatic dishwashers only when full, scrape or wipe dishes clean to reduce pre-rinse.
• Hand wash dishes in a sink or basin filled with water, rinse with a sprayer or in a pan of hot water. Don’t let water run continuously.
• Avoid using garbage disposals, compost suitable waste and feed leftovers to pets.
• Cool drinking water in refrigerator or with ice, not by running the tap.
   

Laundry

• Match washing machine load selector to laundry load size, and only do full loads.
• When replacing washing machine choose water and energy efficient models
   

Outdoors (when permitted)

• Plant less lawn and mow less frequently, don’t cut it short. Landscape with drought resistant trees and shrubs, use mulch to reduce evaporation.
• Water lawns only when needed. If grass springs back under foot pressure it doesn’t need water, if it stays flat it needs water.
  • When watering the lawn, water long enough for moisture to soak down to the roots, this promotes deep root growth and makes the lawn more drought resistant.
  • Water lawns only in the cooler early morning and evening.
  • Assure that lawn sprinklers are directed on the lawn, not on the street, driveway or sidewalk.
  • Don’t wash driveways or sidewalks, sweep them with a broom or use a power blower.
  • Have your car washed at a commercial car wash that recycles its wash water. If you must wash your own car wash it from a pail of soapy water followed by a quick rinse from the hose.
  • Equip hoses with trigger type nozzles that turn off automatically when not in use.
  • Cover pools and spas to reduce evaporation, avoid wasting water from overflows and splashes by reducing water levels.