Water is one of America's most precious resources. It's an essential part of our environment and our daily lives. Yet, it's being wasted at the rate of thousands of gallons each day.

This, in turn, wastes another resource precious to you. Your money. Both the money you spend for water - and the water you spend to heat water.

Indoors:

• Repair dripping faucets and leaky toilets. Test toilets for silent leaks, which can waste up to 10 ½ gallons an hour. Put a dozen drops of red food coloring into the tank, if the dye appears in the bowl, there is a silent leak; you may need to change the flapper or ball. If no dye shows up in the bowl after 15 minutes, the toilet is leak-free.
• A lot of dollars go down the drain. An average family that uses municipal water can save as much as $50 to $75 per year on water and sewer bills by switching to low-flow shower heads and low-flush toilets. You can purchase a low flow shower head at ALP for $5.
• Wasted water increases energy costs. The average family can save 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of water each year, plus the energy it took to heat half that water, perhaps $20 to $50.
• Turning off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving can save up to 3 gallons each time.
• Take showers instead of baths.
• Wash vegetables in a bowl of water, or in a sink with the drain closed. Then rinse under the tap briefly. Scrubbing a dozen potatoes under a tap can take 3 gallons of water.
• Use low-suds detergents, which require less water for rinsing; the amount of foam has no effect on the cleansing power.
• Use garbage disposals as little as possible. Throw such garbage as bones and eggshells into the trash.
• Use your dishwasher for full loads only. Every load uses about 15 gallons.
• If you wash dishes by hand, don’t leave the water running for rinsing.
• Use your washing machine for full loads only. It uses up to 60 gallons per load.
• Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator so you won’t have to run the tap to cool it.

Outdoors:

• Don't overwater your lawn, and water early in the morning or at night to avoid excess evaporation.
• Adjust sprinklers to water the lawn, not the pavement.
• Water early in the morning to avoid evaporation.
• Use a broom instead of the hose when the broom will do the job.
• Don’t let the hose run when you wash your car. Use a self-closing nozzle or turn the water off between rinses.
• Place rain barrels beneath your downspouts. The rainwater can be used for outdoor plants and trees or to wash a car.