During a drought, it is very important to conserve water as much as possible. Almost every summer, Indiana goes through a period of reduced rainfall. The best way to prepare for a drought is by incorporating wise water use practices into your daily lifestyle. Always be sure to stay in the loop of your local restrictions on water use during a drought.
To make sure you are not wasting water, it is helpful to know how much water you’re using and where. The Alliance for Water Efficiency makes this easy with their online water calculator where you can put in specific information about your household’s water use and help you find ways to save water based on that data. Help ensure that water will be available for future generations by always looking for ways to conserve water.
Tips On How to Conserve Water
There are simple things to take into consideration in order to save water year-round both inside and outside of your home.
Inside Your Home
- Be sure to run your dishwasher and clothes washer only when they are full and to use the water-saver cycle if you have one.
- Check for leaks. To do this, do not use any water for a one-hour period, and check your water meter before and after. If the meter changes at all, this means you probably have a leak somewhere in your home.
- Insulate your exposed hot water water pipes with pre-slit insulation in order to avoid wasting water while waiting for it to heat up.
- Adjust the settings on your washing machine so the water level matches your load size.
- Turn off the tap water when you are brushing your teeth or washing dishes.
- Regularly check your faucets, pipes and toilets for leaks with Indiana American Water’s free leak detection kit. If you detect a leak in your home, have it fixed as quickly as possible.
- Consider using water- and energy-efficient appliances in your home. If products and services have the WaterSense Label, this means that they have been certified to be at least 20 percent more efficient without sacrificing performance. Water-saving washing machines, showerheads, toilets and faucet aerators can easily help decrease your water usage.
Outside Your Home
- Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your sidewalk, driveway or patio.
- When planting, be sure to plant appropriately for your local climate. Check with local nurseries for drought-tolerant and non-invasive plants.
- Set your lawn mower one setting higher to make your lawn more drought tolerant.
- Be sure to only water your lawn when necessary. Watering your lawn is a very easy way to waste water. An easy way to tell when your lawn is in need of watering is to walk across the grass and see if you leave footprints. If you do, your lawn is most likely in need of watering. Generally, lawns only need about an inch of water each week during the summer. Water your lawn wisely by:
- Water in the morning instead of the middle of the day. This can help you avoid losing as much as 30 percent of water to evaporation.
- Planning deep-soaking waterings to encourage deep root growth for your lawn to create stronger grass.
- Consider using porous pavement instead of asphalt for driveways and walkways. With porous pavement, the rain will soak into the soil instead of running off and contributing to erosion.
- Use drip irrigation hoses to water your plants.
Learn More About Wise Water Use With Indiana American Water
Still have questions about the best ways to conserve water during a drought? Visit us online at our Wise Water Use page to learn more and get all of your questions answered.