How you can do your part - and save money - by conserving water

<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt">How you can do your part – and save money – by conserving water</h2>(ARA) – Water may not be the renewable resource you think it is. In fact, 36 states anticipate shortages by 2013, according to U.S. government estimates. But the good news is there are multiple ways you can reduce the amount of water you use in the home, which in the end will save you money on your water bill.There are ways to cut back on the waste with every toilet flush, every time the shower runs or each time vegetables are washed in the sink. The Environmental Protection Agency promotes water efficiency and enhances the market for efficient products, programs and practices using the WaterSense label. Several manufacturers that actively support WaterSense are taking the federal mandate of 1.6 gallons of water per flush to a new level. Kohler Co. has developed toilets which use only one gallon of water, and there are several models available at the 1.28 gallons-per-flush level. Dual flush toilets allow users to choose a level of water — 0.8 gallons for liquid wastes and 1.6 gallons for solids — with improved flushing technology, meaning consumers are not going to lose out on performance or design. If the average family of four people changes their old, 3.5 gallons-per-flush toilet for a high efficiency, 1.28 gallons-per-flush toilet, they could save 20,000 gallons of water a year. If every household did the same thing, more than 1 billion gallons of water would be saved. "Homeowners are wanting energy-efficient appliances to save money around the home, and they shouldn’t overlook plumbing products," says Master Plumber and Contractor Ed Del Grande, host of "Ed The Plumber" on the Do It Yourself Network. "By replacing toilets with newer models that flush much less water, but still perform to expectations, an average family can save a lot of water. And we know that performance cannot be overstated. What good is a water-saving toilet if you have to flush twice?" <div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/3a.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/3a.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div> But toilets are just the start. The standard rate of water flow in the shower is 2.5 gallons per minute. That can be cut in third by installing a high-efficiency showerhead, and many showerheads can be adjusted to get the high-pressure power massage, if wanted. The third water-saving opportunity in every household takes the least amount of work. Faucet aerators are the screens water passes through as it leaves the spout. The replacement of a 2.2-gallons-per-minute aerator with a 1.5-gallons-per-minute aerator reduces water usage by 30 percent. If you are curious about how much water you are using in your home, visit <a href="http://www.savewateramerica.com/">www.savewateramerica.com</a> to take a brief quiz that will help determine usage and identify ways to save water in your home. For each person who takes the quiz, Kohler will donate $1 in water-saving products to Habitat For Humanity for use in their homes.

How you can do your part – and save money – by conserving water

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