1. Store drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting the tap run, when you want a cold glass of water. Did you know that you could refill an 8-oz. glass of water approximately 15,000 times for the same cost as a six-pack of soda?
2. Little leaks add up in a hurry! A faucet drip that totals only two tablespoons a minute comes to 15 gallons a day. That’s 105 gallons a week or 5,460 wasted gallons of water a year.
3. Don’t let the faucet run when you scrub vegetables or prepare other foods. Put a stopper in the sink instead.
4. Do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food overnight in the refrigerator or by using the defrost setting on your microwave.
5. Start a compost pile! Garbage disposals require lots of water to operate properly. Composting scraps will also reduce demand on our landfills and wastewater reclamation facilities.
6. Automatic dishwashers claim the most water in kitchens, about 14 gallons per load. Running dishwashers after 10:00 pm also helps reduce the demand on the water treatment facility during peak hours.For more information on water efficient dishwashers, try the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Dishwashers page.
7. Fill your dishwasher full because it will use the same amount of water for a normal cycle, whether it contains a full load of dishes or just a few items. Also, there’s really no need to fully wash dishes before loading in the dishwasher. Just scrape the food off and let the dishwasher do the rest of the work.
8. When it’s time to replace your dishwasher look for the most water efficient ones. A dishwasher with a water-saver function uses 8.5 gallons/load, which is 5.5 gallons per load less than a standard dishwasher.
9. If you wash dishes by hand, don’t leave the water running for rinsing. If you have two sinks, fill one with soapy water and one with rinse water. If you have only one sink, gather washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a sprayer or a panful of hot water.

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