Water efficiency and conservation saves you money, limits contamination of local water, and extends the lifespan of your septic system.
How Does It Work?
All of the water your household uses gets sent down its pipes and into its septic system, and so reducing your water usage, or using your water efficiently, helps avoid potential issues and damages such as septic system overloading or failure, drainfield problems, clogged pipes, and contamination of local water sources.
For example, heavy water usage overloads your septic system and negates its abilities to treat wastewater. This can cause drainfield issues (soggy spots in your yard, sewage odors, etc.), and the contaminated water that has leached into the soil can then also affect local water sources.
Crazy, right!?
How Much Water Does Your Home Use?
It varies depending a number of factors, such as how many people are living in your household, your daily water usage habits, and how efficient your appliances are, but a typical single-family home averages nearly 8,000 gallons of indoor water usage per month, and a leaky sink or running toilet can waste as much as 200 gallons of water per day.
Water efficiency considerations for your home:
Laundry
- Use the proper load size settings on your washing machine to avoid wasting water and energy.
- Here’s a no brainer: utilize water or energy saving features on your washing machine!
- Avoid doing all household laundry in one day. Though it seems like a time-saver, it doesn’t allow your septic tank enough time to treat waste, and can flood your drainfield.
Dishes
- Don’t leave water running when cleaning dishes by hand.
- Run your dishwasher when it’s full to make the most of the water used in each cycle.
- Take advantage of water and energy saving features.
Flushing
- The toilet is often a household’s most problematic source of wastewater, so avoid unnecessarily flushing trash that should instead be disposed of in your waste bin.
- Consider replacing your current toilet with a high-efficiency model to reduce water waste.
Personal Habits and Other Tips
- Limit the number of baths you take and opt for a shower instead! Just one bath can use about 60 gallons of water, whereas showers only call for roughly 25 to 35 gallons.
- Don’t leave the water running while brushing your teeth.
- Regularly check for leaks, dripping faucets, or running toilets, and make sure they are fixed in a timely manner.
- Collect rain water to later be utilized for watering indoor/outdoor plants.
- Avoid overwatering your lawn and monitor your sprinklers. 30-60 percent of domestic drinking water is used for watering yards and gardens, and often large portions are wasted by over-watering, evaporation, and misdirected sprinklers.
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