Household Conservation Tips

We drink very little of the millions of gallons of water that are treated every day for drinking. Generally speaking, less than 1% of the water produced by water treatment facilities is actually used for drinking. Though indoor water use statistics vary from family to family and around the country, they average out pretty reliably. Did you know that 26% of water used inside the home gets flushed down toilets; 20% is used in showers and baths; kitchen and bathroom faucets use 15%; cleaning and washing dishes consumes an additional 3%; the laundry room uses 23%; and leaks claim 13% of the water used in the home? Studies show that indoor water use can be reduced by almost 30% with water-efficient fixtures, dishwashers, and clothes washers. The Water-Efficient household uses 52 gallons of water per person, per day.

If each Cary resident saved one gallon of water a day for a year, we would save over 29 million gallons of water. That equals about 150 Olympic-size swimming pools, or 232 million 8-ounce glasses of water.

Conservation doesn't mean sacrifice, all it takes is common sense and thinking about conserving anytime you use water.

General Water Saving Tips
How to save water in the Bathroom
How to save water in the Kitchen
How to save water in the Laundry Room
How to save water outside

Gray Water

By law, gray water - defined by North Carolina Plumbing Code as "waste discharged from bathtubs, showers, clothes washers, and laundry sinks" - cannot be reused unless it is first treated by a permitted treatment plant or permitted septic plant system.  Gray water may contain pathogens such as fecal coliform and bacteria, which can make people and animals sick.  It is illegal to reuse gray water in North Carolina.

However, collecting clean water from showers and faucets beforeit makes contact with humans or food is allowed.  For example, collecting clean water from showers and sinks while waiting for it to warm it is not considered gray water.  For more information on gray water, please see http://www.wakegov.com/water/wastewater/graywater.htm.

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