The WaterSense Current Winter 2015
Issue XXXIII, Winter 2015
Make Water Efficiency Resolutions in 2015 With WaterSense
After you’ve taken the pledge,
download our resolutions checklist to achieve monthly water savings with simple steps.
The dawn of a new year brings with it aspirations that don’t always stick around, but if you keep them simple, New Year’s resolutions can be actions you take instead of promises you break. If the typical weight-loss or exercise resolutions aren’t getting you moving, refocus your efforts on a healthier planet by resolving to save water. Try these 12 monthly resolutions that can make saving water so simple, you’ll achieve your most water–efficient year yet.
- January: Make it official. Declare your commitment to making 2015 about water by taking the “I'm for Water” pledge and sharing your resolution on social media. Encourage your friends, colleagues, and neighbors to reduce their water use by connecting with WaterSense on Facebook
and Twitter. - February: Give your valentine a green getaway. In addition to trying a few water-saving tips when you are traveling, look for a WaterSense H2Otel Challenge participant (8 pg, 342K, About PDF) when booking your romantic trip or spring vacation. These hotels have pledged to “ACT”—assess their water use, change water-wasting practices, and track their progress.
- March: Chase away leaks. Join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in celebrating its seventh annual Fix a Leak Week from March 16 to 22, 2015. Participating is easy: check fixtures for leaks; twist and tighten faucet valve, hose, and pipe connections; and replace old plumbing fixtures and irrigation controllers with WaterSense labeled models.
- April: Grow the smartest garden on your block. Boost your home’s curb appeal while saving resources with a water-smart landscape design that’s both beautiful and efficient. By localizing your yard with regionally appropriate plants, you’ll water less frequently and have more time to enjoy the view!
- May: Spruce up your system. When it comes to a home’s irrigation system, a little maintenance goes a long way. Before you ramp up your watering efforts, spruce up your irrigation system by remembering four simple steps—inspect, connect, direct, and select.
- June: Beat the summer heat with savings. Look at your water bill this summer to see if your water use goes up as the heat begins to build. Cool off with rebates on your favorite WaterSense labeled products, and further your savings by not watering your lawn in the middle of the day to reduce water loss from evaporation.
- July: Go with a pro. July is Smart Irrigation Month, the perfect time to consult an irrigation professional certified by a WaterSense labeled program to design, install, maintain, repair, and audit your landscape irrigation system for optimal efficiency.
- August: Clean up your act. To celebrate World Water Week from August 22 to 28, 2015, wash only full loads of laundry and dishes to reduce the number of cycles and save water. Don’t rinse dishes under running water; plug up the sink or use a wash basin to keep water, energy, and money from going down the drain.
- September: Get smart about saving water. School yourself on water savings by playing an interactive game with Flo! Kids (and kids at heart) help this animated water drop navigate through water pipes by answering water efficiency questions and avoiding water-wasting monsters.
- October: Shower better. October is Shower Better Month. Replacing your old showerhead with a WaterSense labeled model saves 2,900 gallons of water, the amount of electricity needed to power a home for 13 days, and more than $70 in water and energy costs every year. In others words, you shower better.
- November: Remodel with WaterSense. Dreaming of a better bathroom? Give it a mini-makeover with a WaterSense labeled faucet, showerhead, or toilet, available in a wide variety of colors, models, and price points to fit any style or budget.
- December: Give the gift of savings. Help your loved ones tap into water and energy savings with WaterSense labeled faucet aerators—perfect for stuffing stockings and ensuring a favorable flow.
Take the pledge to get started on your year of water savings and learn more simple steps for reducing water use inside and out.
Nip Drips Inside and Out During Seventh Annual Fix a Leak Week
Leaking faucets, showerheads, toilets, and irrigation equipment can raise a family’s water bill by 10 percent. Nationwide, easy-to-fix household leaks can lead to the loss of more than 1 trillion gallons of water annually. Communities across the country will join EPA for the seventh annual Fix a Leak Week from March 16 to 22, 2015, as WaterSense partners encourage Americans to check, twist, and replace.
- Check for leaks. One way to detect leaks is to evaluate your water use during the winter. A household of four generally doesn’t consume more than 12,000 gallons of water per month. If your family is using more than that, leaks might be the culprit. Another method is to check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when water isn’t being used to verify whether the reading changes. If it does, a leak is likely.
- Twist your way to leak-free fixtures. Once you’ve identified any leaks, tighten hose and pipe connections and faucet valves, or wrap showerheads with pipe tape if needed to form a good seal. Dripping faucets are easily remedied by replacing worn-out gaskets and washers. To save even more water, twist a WaterSense labeled aerator onto your bathroom sink faucets. Finally, check your garden hose for leaks at its connection to the spigot. If it leaks while you run your hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.
- Replace when necessary. Most toilet leaks are the result of worn-out flappers, which are cheap and easy to switch out with new ones. And if you still can’t nip that drip in the bud, it might be time to replace the fixture. Look for the WaterSense label when considering a new toilet, faucet, or showerhead to ensure water savings with the performance you’ve come to expect.
Household leaks are a drain on resources and your wallet, but fixing them is relatively easy and saves water, energy, and money. Learn how you can join consumers across the country in the race against leaks.
Georgia WaterSense Partners Team Up to Chase Leaks
Cobb County Water System Senior Project Manager Kathy Nguyen (right) celebrates Fix a Leak Week 2013 at the Water Drop Dash 5K with the City of Gainesville, Georgia's Conservation Crusader mascot (left).
Teaming up in the chase against water waste, Georgia-based 2014 Promotional Partner of the Year Cobb County Water System and WaterSense Retailer Partner of the Year The Home Depot co-sponsored the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District’s inaugural Water Drop Dash 5–kilometer (5K) racepromoting Fix a Leak Week in 2013. These organizations have found strength in numbers in more ways than one while leveraging WaterSense to build strong communities and chase away water waste.
Cobb County Water System staff distributed water efficiency kits containing WaterSense labeled showerheads and faucet aerators to nearly 400 runners and their families. The Home Depot helped raise awareness about the importance of finding and fixing household leaks for the Water Drop Dash 5K by providing website content, event T-shirts, and race day signs.
In addition to helping consumers save water, the two organizations also saved them money in the process through rebates and product discounts. Cobb County rebated more than 2,500 WaterSense labeled toilets for customers in 2013 alone. Across the country, The Home Depot supported rebate programs for WaterSense labeled toilets, showerheads, and irrigation controllers, helping consumers save more than $36 million in product markdowns.
Cobb County kept the collaboration going by working with fellow WaterSense partners Ewing Irrigation and Rainbird to educate landscape professionals through hands-on trainings with an operable display of WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers.
“Partnering with like-minded organizations brings a national focus to topics like leaks, irrigation management, and the water-energy nexus,” Cobb County Water System Senior Project Manager Kathy Nguyen said.
Learn more about The Home Depot and Cobb County Water System’s efforts to promote water efficiency.
National Park Hotel Showers Guests With Water–Saving Ideas in Washington State
Kalaloch Lodge
Located in the heart of Olympic National Park, Kalaloch Lodge’s lush vegetation and close proximity to the Pacific Ocean help guests understand the importance of protecting natural resources. Cabins featuring WaterSense labeled showerheads and a fun-filled shower challenge are just a few ways this hotel in Forks, Washington, involves guests and staff in its water conservation strategy. These efforts help save more than 1.37 million gallons of water and approximately $47,000 in water and sewer costs every year!
Kalaloch Lodge hosts approximately 40,000 overnight guests per year and has 80 employees in the peak summer months. To promote water conservation, in-room materials remind guests that “Water is Vital. Please Conserve.” and encourages them to report leaks and reduce laundry water use by participating in the lodge’s towel and linen reuse program. A tri-fold brochure in each room discusses water conservation, Kalaloch Lodge water savings goals, and what guests can do to reduce water use during their stay. Because guests often access Kalaloch Lodge’s website and blogs prior to their stay, the lodge also uses these venues to highlight efforts to green the lodge and ways guests can help to save water.
In both guest cabins and employee housing, Kalaloch Lodge replaced all of its showerheads with WaterSense labeled models and encourages everyone on its property to reduce their personal water use through a five-minute shower challenge. All rooms have a simple egg timer set to five minutes, along with an informational card challenging guests or employees living on the property to shower in five minutes and reduce water use by 60 percent. The shower challenge was so popular with guests that some even approached the front desk about purchasing timers, in hopes of bringing the challenge to their homes.
To equip employees with the education needed to keep guests engaged, Kalaloch Lodge offers environmental trainings about about the lodge’s high-efficiency fixtures, linen reuse program, and policy to serve water only on request. The amount of water served has been reduced by approximately 50 percent. Kalaloch Lodge’s overall employee and guest education efforts helped it to reduce its water consumption by more than 46 percent between 2011 and 2014—exceeding its goal of 40 percent reduction in water use by 2020 seven years ahead of schedule!
Learn more about the Kalaloch Lodge’s efforts to save water.
Delta Faucet Company Decks the Hospitality Halls for Greener Travel
To offers travelers a “greener” holiday, 2014 WaterSense Large Manufacturer Partner of the Year Delta Faucet Company worked with the Hospitality Sustainability Purchasing (HSP) Consortium to ensure guestroom fixtures help travelers save water on the go. To help consumers bring the savings home, Delta also promoted the benefits of WaterSense labeled bathroom faucets and showerheads to multi-family housing builders and developers.
The HSP Consortium was created in 2011 to help hospitality organizations support sustainability among the industry suppliers and the products they produce. Its Web-based purchasing database shares the environmental performance of suppliers to help hotels select water- and energy-efficient products for savings they can pass on to guests. In 2013, Delta worked with the HSP Consortium to ensure guestroom fixture standards aligned with WaterSense specifications.
In addition to selling millions of WaterSense labeled fixtures, Delta has also helped consumers save water at home by hosting presentations for multi-family housing builders and developers to promote the benefits of WaterSense labeled products. Developers and large-scale builders can help consumers save water and energy by offering WaterSense labeled products and new homes in both single- and multi-family markets.
Delta also provided WaterSense labeled fixtures for HGTV’s Dream Home Sweepstakes and a St. Jude Dream Home event to help demonstrate to consumers the products’ water-saving benefits. Delta provided HGTV with WaterSense labeled Delta Faucet products to install throughout the dream home. And as part of its national St. Jude Dream Home sponsorship, Delta’s Brizo brand donated WaterSense labeled products to 28 homes that received more than 80,000 visitors.
The company also reached consumers online through its website’s Smart Solutions sectiondevoted to WaterSense labeled Delta faucets, showerheads, and toilets.
Learn more about Delta’s efforts to promote WaterSense
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