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Click here to download a worksheet that you can use to calculate how much water your household consumes during a typical week, just in daily living activities like washing, flushing, and cleaning.

Ways To Conserve Water Inside Your Home:

·         Turn off the running water while you brush your teeth. (Save 1 to 5 gallons of water per minute.)

·         Turn off the water while shaving. Fill the sink with a little water and rinse your razor in that. (Save 1 to 5 gallons of water per minute.

·         Install low-flow shower heads and toilets. (Save 1 to 5 gallons of water per minute.)

·         Take shorter showers. You can save 2 to 10 gallons for every minute you cut back. Or take a shallow bath instead. (Short showers with a low-flow head uses less water than a bath.

·         Fix leaky faucets. Save upt to 2,700 gallons of water per year.

·         Fill your bathtub only half full for an adult-size bath. Save up to 12 gallons in a 24-gallon bathtub.

·         While waiting for the shower or bath water to warm up, save that water and use it on your house plants, flower beds, trees, for pet drinking water or elsewhere.

·         Check your toilets for leaks. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank. If the coloring begins to appear in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately. Even a small leak can waste thousands of gallons a month.

·         Rinse vegetables and fruits with a sink full of clean water rather than running the water the whole time.

·         Don't run the tap to get cold or hot water. Keep a bottle or pitcher of drinking water in the fridge instead of running the water to cool it. Heat water in the microwave.

·         When washing dishes by hand, don't keep water running. Use sinks full of water to wash and then rinse.

·         Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run over them while you scrape.

·         Consider installing an instant water heater on your kitchen sink so you don't have to let water run while it heats up. This will reduce water heating costs and conserve water.

·         Store a jug of water in the refrigerator for a cold drink.

·         Run only full loads of dishes in your dish-washing machine. (Save up to 15 gallons of water per load).

·         Run only full loads of clothes in your washing machine. (Save up to 23 gallons of water for every load you don't run).

·         Never pour water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or cleaning around the house.

·         Use high-efficiency appliances if possible.

Ways To Conserve Water Outside Your Home:

·         Water your lawn every three days. Your lawn generally doesn't need more than this.

·         Keep sprinklers from watering pavement. Position them so that water lands on the lawn and shrubs.

·         The idea is to cycle you watering so most of the water gets into the soil. High clay-content soils absorb water very slowly, so it is necessary to apply no more water than the ground can absorb.

·         Don't water if it's raining - even if it is your day/time to water.

·         Reset your automatic sprinkler system as the season changes to eliminate unnecessary watering. Homes with automatic sprinklers use up to 50 percent more water than manually operated systems.

·         Treat brown spots in the lawn with the hose instead of running the entire sprinkler system.

·         Use drip or soaker-type irrigation for all plantings except turf.

·         When possible, place plants with similar watering needs in the same areas.

·         Perennials, including trees and shrubs, should be planted during March and April, the wettest months of the year in Colorado. Take advantage of the cooler temperatures and natural precipitation to get your plants established.

·         Border all lawn areas with low-water ground covers to reduce water runoff and buffer the grass from hot pavement.

·         Aerate your lawn. This increases water infiltration into the soil, allowing more water to get to the root zone. Aerating also adds air to the soil, which aids plant growth.

·         Avoid over-fertilizing. Fertilizer increases the need for water. Fertilize appropriately.

·         Set lawnmower blades to cut grass at about 2 to 3 inches long. Mowing grass shorter dries out the soil faster and increases water use.

·         Leave grass clippings on your lawn. This will reduce evaporation and add organic matter to the soil, allowing it to retain more water.

·         Spread mulch or compost around plants to reduce water loss and weed growth.

·         Don't hose down your driveway. Sweep it instead.

·         Wash you car at a commercial car wash that recycles its water. (Look for the automatic drive-through car washes. The manual ones often don't recycle water.) Or use a bucket and/or hose with an automatic shut off nozzle at home.

 Other Valuable Resources:

Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District has several water conservation demonstration plots relative to landscape, and it is open to the public. The staff conducts training sessions in the Conservation Gardens and they also have self guided tours during their normal business hours. Give them a call or visit their website for more information.

http://www.ncwcd.org/ncwcd_about/pdf/ConsBrochure07.pdf

Colorado Foundation for Water Education
The mission of this non-profit, non-advocacy organization is to promote better understanding of Colorado's water resources and issues by providing balanced and accurate information and education.
http://cfwe.org/default.asp

Colorado WaterWise Council
The voice of the Colorado water efficiency community.
http://www.coloradowaterwise.org/

Green Industries of Colorado (GreenCO) Landscape Best Management Practices
GreenCO’s BMPs are guidelines on how to reduce water consumption and protect water quality while producing, designing, installing and maintaining healthy, beautiful landscapes.
http://www.greenco.org/

Watersaver.org
Watersaver.org is an information warehouse dedicated to helping water users access water related entities throughout the Front Range of Colorado as well as providing tools that help explain and calculate efficient outdoor watering times, tips on saving water indoors, Xeriscape and tree care recommendations.
http://www.watersaver.org/

Xeriscape, Colorado! Inc.
Xeriscape, Colorado! Inc. is a non-profit membership group promoting creative approaches to water conserving landscapes. It is a network of interested volunteers representing all aspects of the landscape industry, municipal and public agencies and the general public.
http://www.xeriscape.org

H2Ouse: The Water Saver Home
A guide to residential water conservation.
http://www.h2ouse.org

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Water Use Efficiency Program
Provides a wide variety of information on water conservation.
http://www.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency/

WaterWiser: The Water Efficiency Clearinghouse
Produced and maintained by the members of the Water Conservation Division of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the AWWA web team, WaterWiser provides news, information, research results, discussion forums, references, calendar of events, searchable information databases, and other resources primarily targeted to water conservation professionals, but freely accessible to others in the water industry and the general public.
http://www.waterwiser.org/