One of the primary missions of Cedar Hill Enrichment Center is to promote and teach earth literacy and sustainability. As such, the Center has put together a tip sheet to assist in dealing with the current water shortage.

Cedar Hill believes that these measures should be practiced in all homes and businesses, regardless of drought. Fortunately, like most environmentally-friendly practices, water conservation is relatively easy and simple to implement.

Here is a short list of sensible tips by Cedar Hill:

Avoid washing down paved areas.
Sweep driveway and sidewalks in garden cleanup.

Repair faucet leaks.
As much as 15 gallons of water can be lost each day with a slow drip.

Avoid toilet water waste.
Do not use toilet as a trash disposal.

Take Shorter Showers.
An extra five minutes in the shower could mean 25 gallons or more down the drain. Use a moderate stream. Our suggestion is to turn off the water while shampooing, soaping or shaving, then turn it back on to rinse. There is an added water savings by adopting this practice.

The automatic dishwasher — use it wisely.
Half loads cheat you out of full water use. Remember – it’s best to hand wash dishes, as long you don’t let the water run.

Watch those laundry loads, too.
Some 50 gallons of water are used to wash a load of clothes. Make every load count.

Avoid the running faucet.
Don't run water continuously while shaving, brushing teeth, peeling vegetables or washing dishes.

More than 10% of all water used in the home is used in the washing machine. An automatic clothes washer, at full cycle and highest water level, uses 30-35 gallons of water. The dishwasher is also a potential heavy user, requiring 25 gallons for a full cycle. Dishwashing with the tap running takes five gallons per minute — approximately 30 gallons per average washing.

DISH WASHING TIPS:

• Instead of running water continuously, fill wash and rinse basins with water.
• Run only full loads in the dishwasher. Avoid using the extra cycle.
• Chill drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap.
• Use your garbage disposal sparingly, using a garbage can for most kitchen waste.
• Wash only full loads of clothes on the short cycle in your washing machine.
• Check faucets and hose connections for leaks. Repair or replace whenever necessary.

Waste water may be the simplest way to stretch your water budget during the hot summer months. Gray water, which is recycled shower, bath and laundry water, can be used to keep thirsty plants alive, but some precautions should be followed. Because gray water has not been disinfected, it could be contaminated. A careful, common-sense approach to the use of gray water, however, can virtually eliminate any potential hazard.

The following precautions are recommended when using waste water:

• Never use gray water for direct consumption.
• Gray water should not be used directly on anything that may be eaten.
• Gray water should not be sprayed, allowed to puddle, or run off property.
• Use only water from clothes washing, bathing, or the bathroom sink. Do not use water that has come in contact with soiled diapers, meat or poultry, or anyone with an infectious disease.
• Plant specialists warn that gray water should not be used on vegetables, seedlings, container plants, or acid-loving plants such as azaleas, begonias, camellias, and citrus trees. Gray water should be rotated with fresh water to leach out any harmful build-up. Chlorine bleach may damage plants, especially if it touches the foliage. Biodegradable soaps appear to have the least harmful effects. 
• For further information regarding the safe use of gray water, contact your local office or your local health agency.

Additional Tips:

Put a plastic bottle or a plastic bag weighted with pebbles and filled with water in your toilet tank. Displacing water in this manner allows you to use less water with each flush. Saves 5 to 10 gallons.

Install water-saving shower heads or flow restrictors. Saves 500 to 800 gallons.

Check toilet for leaks. Put dye tablets or food coloring into the tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, there's a leak that should be repaired. Saves 400 gallons.

If you wash dishes by hand--and that's the best way--don't leave the water running for rinsing. If you have two sinks, fill one with rinse water. If you only have one sink, use a spray device or short blasts instead of letting the water run. Saves 200 to 500 gallons.

When washing dishes by hand, use the least amount of detergent possible. This minimizes rinse water needed. Saves 50 to 150 gallons.

Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator. This beats the wasteful habit of running tap water to cool it for drinking. Saves 200 to 300 gallons.

Don't defrost frozen foods with running water. Either plan ahead by placing frozen items in the refrigerator overnight or defrost them in the microwave. Saves 50 to 150 gallons.

Don't let the faucet run while you clean vegetables. Rinse them in a filled sink or pan. Saves 150 to 250 gallons.

Use the garbage disposal less and the garbage more (even better--compost!). Saves 50 to 150 gallons a month. 

Replace your water-guzzling five to seven gallon a flush toilet with a one and a half gallon, ultra-low flush model.

We rarely think about water when we see an automobile, for example, but producing a typical U.S. car requires more than 50 times its weight in water (39,090 gallons)! Choosing a fuel-efficient model will help--it takes 44 gallons of water to refine one gallon of crude oil and 1,700 gallons of water to produce a gallon of ethanol.

Other surprising water use facts:

--A kilogram (2.2 lbs) of hamburger or steak produced by a typical California beef cattle operation, for instance, uses some 20,500 liters (5,400 gal.) of water.

--Producing 1 lb of bread requires 500 gallons of water.

--Producing 1 serving (8 oz.) of chicken requires 330 gallons of water.

--Growing one cotton T-shirt requires 256 gallons of water (source: The King of California, by Arax and Wartzman)

--Producing 1 egg requires over 100 gallons of water.

--Producing 1 serving (8 fl. oz.) of milk requires 48 gallons of water.

--Producing 1 serving (2 oz.) of pasta requires 36 gallons of water.

--Producing 1 serving (4.6 oz.) of oranges requires 14 gallons of water.

--Producing 1 serving (4.3 oz.) of tomatoes requires 8 gallons of water.

--A typical American Thanksgiving dinner for six people requires over 30,000 gallons of water.

CEDAR HILL ENRICHMENT CENTER
5735 Dawsonville Hwy, Gainesville, GA 30506
770-887-0051