Rainfall in northern Virginia is several inches below normal for 2007 and the specter of water restrictions hangs over several communities. Citizens of Middleburg can do several small things that might result in significant water savings and, accordingly, save a few dollars as well. Below are ten things that citizens can do to save water in their homes.

1) Check for water leaks household-wide. Find a two-hour period when no one in the house will use water. At the beginning of the period, read your water meter. At the end of the period, read the meter again. If the reading has changed, you have leaks. This does not identify where the leaks are located – that is up to you. Toilets generally are the greatest user of water in the home – start there. A good way to check for leaks in toilets is to put some food dye in the tank. Thirty minutes later, check the basin. If you see the dye color in the basin, you have a leak. Check for worn parts or replace the gaskets.

2) Replace your existing toilets which use 5-6 gallons per flush with low-flush toilets that use as little as 1.6 gallons per flush. For a family of 4, assuming that each person flushes the toilet 5 times per day, the savings can be about 4 gallons per flush or about 100 gallons per day. This represents nearly $1.00 per day of water savings per household which doesn't sound like much but it does amount to $365.00 per year, a significant savings. If low flush toilets are not in your future, you still can do two things to reduce the amount of water used per flush. Put one or two bricks in the toilet tank or put a water-filled half-gallon plastic milk bottle in the tank. Also, adjust the float in the tank to lower the fill amount. These two things can save a gallon per flush or approximately 20 gallons per day for a family of four. This would amount to a savings of about $90.00 per year.

3) Replace your existing shower head with a low flow shower head. Many existing showers use up to 4 gallons per minute – the low flow shower heads can reduce this usage to 2 gallons per minute – a savings of 20 gallons per 10 minute shower or 80 gallons per day for a family of four or about $290 per year. Another option would be shorter showers or turning the water off while soaping.

4) Insulate hot water pipes. When you turn on a hot water faucet, it can take 30 seconds to one minute before hot water begins to flow. Insulating hot water pipes wherever possible can reduce the amount of time for the hot water flow. Another water savings possibility is the installation of on-demand hot water systems. This technology provides nearly instantaneous hot water at the touch of the faucet and also can save on energy costs.

5) Run dishwashers only with a full load. The average dishwasher uses 15 gallons per load, and uses the same amount whether the dishwasher is fully or partially loaded.

6) Run clothes washers with a full load. The average washing machine uses 55 gallons of water per load for the wash and rinse cycles. If you run the washer each time with a full load, you generally can save water by running less loads. Also, if environmentally safe detergents are used, the waste water (grey water) can be collected and used for plant watering.

7) Retrofit faucets with aerators or flow restrictors. Savings can be significant.

8) Shut off water during teeth brushing. Often one gallon or more of water can be lost in a two minute brushing.

9) Reduce the frequency of lawn watering. One-half inch of water delivered every third day during periods of dry weather can generally maintain the average yard. Use rain barrels to collect rainfall for watering plants, and water plants using a sprinkling can.

10) Wash your vehicles using a bucket of water or shut off the hose between wetting down the vehicle and rinsing.

Happy water savings, Middleburg! Our water resources thank you and you will notice a savings in your water bill! By doing most of the things in the list, the Middleburg community potentially could save more than one million gallons of water per year and the average household could as much as $200 per year in water bills.