13 WAYS TO CONSERVE WATER

As our world gets hotter, water becomes more precious and harder to come by. But there are simple, DIY strategies that can make a big difference righ at home.

1. Fix leaks! A dripping faucet or running toilet can waste hundreds of gallons of water each week. Regularly check for leaks in faucets, toilets, and showerheads. Most small leaks can be fixed with a wrench and a few basic tools, and fixing them early can also prevent black mold from forming later.

2. Install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators. These water-efficient devices can cut your household water use by up to 50%, yes, half!  You can install them yourself in just a few minutes and they’ll save water without sacrificing much comfort or presure. 

3. Take shorter showers. Reducing shower time by just a few minutes saves a suprising amount of water. For a fun challenge, set a timer and try to keep showers under five minutes.  If you’re resistant to shorter showers, place a bucket under trhe stream while waiting for the water to warm up.  You can reuse that water fro flusing toilets or watering plants. 

4. A bottle in the back of your toilet? Place a full bottle or stones in your toilet tank, away from moving parts. This reduces the abount of water used with each flush, saving up to 10 gallons a day!

5. Run full loads. Only run your dishwasher or washing machine when you have a full load. If you wash dishes by hand, fill a basin to catch rinse water, then reuse that water for cleaning or outdoor chores.  

6. Reuse gray water. Collect the water that drains from your washing machine, showers, baths, or sink in a bucket to use on your lawn. This “gray water” is ideal when approprite soap is used for watering plants, trees, or even washing your car, giving every drop a second life.  

7. Mulch with Aloha.   A thick layer of mulch around your plants and garden beds helps the soil stay cool and moist, meaning you can water less otten.  Organic mulch like straw, wood chips, or even dried leaves from your yard is easy to spread and can prevent up to 70% of water from evaproating into the air.  

8. Water with the Rhythm of the Day. Set your watering schedule for early morning or late evening when the air is cooler and calmer.  This gives your plants more time to soak up the wai (water) before the sun drinks it away.  It’s simple timing that can make a big difference.

9. Catch the Rain.   Install rain gutters to collect the precious wai that falls from tiyr riif.  Even a light rain can fill huyndreds of gallons, enough to keep your plants happy on dry days.  Nature provides, if we remember to receive.

10. Trade Sprinklers for Drip. Instead of sprinklers that spray more air than soil, try a drip irrigation system.  these deliver water right to your plants’ roots where it’s needed most.  You can even make your own using simple tubing and connectors, a small project with bigh rewards.

11. Try a touch of Xeriscaping.   Xeriscapeing is a beautiful, water-wise way to landscape using succulents, native plant, decorative gravel, or colorful glass.  It’s big in desert climates, nbut it works in dry parts of Hawai’i too.  Start small, replace a patch of lawn with drought tolerant plants or native species that love our island climate and need very little watering once established.  Less lawn, more aina.

12. Car wash? Maybe Not. During a drought, skip washing your car or use waterless cleaner.   If you really must wash it, do it on the lawn so that the runoff  helps your grass instead of running down the drain.  Every drop counts.

13. Prepare for Dry Times.  Conserving water now means we’ll have enough later.  Using WaterSense or Energy Star appliances can cut water use by up to 20% and save you about $350 a year.  If you live in a dry or desert like area, consider setting up rain barrels and storing gray water for reuse.  Keep some drinking water ready too, at least one gallon per serson per day for a week, in case of emergency.  It’s always wise to malama i ka wai, care for the water that sustains us all.