Household Tips and Tricks to Assist in Water Conservation

Water conservation continues to be a top priority for many Americans, especially now that many Georgia counties, including Chatham County, are facing severe to extreme drought conditions. On October 18, 2019, the director of Georgia EPD declared a Level 1 Drought Response for 103 Georgia counties. 

Irrigation is the main source of water usage on the island, accounting for approximately 50 percent of your total water bill. While irrigation is the primary source of water usage outside your home, your toilet uses the most water inside of the home.

The use of toilets accounts for approximately 30 percent of the average home’s indoor water consumption! Another close runner-up in water consumption inside the home is showering, which amounts to nearly 17 percent of indoor residential water use.

The takeaway here is not to stop flushing your toilets or taking showers; please continue to do both! Rather, we’d like to provide you with some simple tips to assist you in reducing your water consumption, which ultimately can aid in lowering your water bill…something that we can all get behind!

• Replace old, inefficient toilets with WaterSense label models. The WaterSense label makes it simple to find water-efficient products, new homes, and programs that meet EPA’s criteria for efficiency and performance. Visit www.epa.gov/watersense or https://epd.georgia.gov/watershed-protection-branch/water-conservation for more information. Making this change could reduce water usage for toilets by 20 to 60 percent, which is nearly 13,000 gallons of water savings for your home every year!
• Fix leaky faucets as soon as you notice them. A leak of 60 drips per minute wastes 192 gallons of water a month.
• Sweep your driveways, decks, porches, and steps rather than hosing them off. When you do need to use a hose, check for leaks at your spigot connection and tighten as necessary. Also, remember to turn your hoses off. A hose left on can easily lose 300 gallons of water per hour!
• Inspect your irrigation system on a regular basis to check for leaks and broken or clogged sprinkler heads. Make repairs to your sprinkler heads that are either broken or spraying on the street or driveway. Upwards of 40 to 50 percent of water is wasted due to inefficiencies related to irrigation methods and systems.
• Consider replacing any other old equipment in your home which uses water -- dishwashers, washing machine, and garbage disposals.
• Create an EyeOnWater account to monitor your water usage and be notified of leaks. To create an EyeOnWater account, visit https://eyeonwater.com/signup and enter your service zip code and service account ID. EyeOnWater also is accessible through the TLA app! The mobile app is available for download on Android and iOS operating systems by searching for The Landings Association in the app store on your smartphone.

In addition to the tips above, residents are reminded that Chatham County watering restrictions apply year-round. This restrictions mandate that odd-numbered addresses water only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Even-numbered addresses are allowed to water only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. No watering is allowed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. or on Fridays.