Use Less Water in Your Daily Life

Water conservation can be easy and fun!  Challenge yourself to save just 20 gallons per day with these simple steps:

1. Take a shorter shower: If you take a 10 minute shower and shave off three minutes, you could save up to 12 gallons.
2. Install a low-flow showerhead. The average family can save nearly 3,000 gallons per year!
3. Use a fully loaded dishwasher. Instead of washing your dishes by hand, run a full load of dishes in a dishwasher and save up to 20 gallons of water.
4. Wear it again. Before washing your clothes ask yourself, can I wear this again? Jeans and other clothing can easily be worn multiple times before washing.   
5. Flush your toilet less.  You read it. We said it.
6. Replace old faucets and shower heads with more efficient ones.  A family could save up to 700 gallons a year.
7. Turn off your faucet when you are not using it, i.e. brushing your teeth, washing your face, washing dishes.

All water statistics are from U.S. EPA's Water Sense partnership program.

Remember timing is everything! Rain in the forecast? Delay doing the laundry or shorten your shower to keep water out of the system and alleviate the burden on our water treatment plants.

Other ways to help keep stormwater out of the system

1. Plant a tree. Get a free one through MWRD - www.mwrd.org 
2. Plant a rain garden. Check out Center for Neighborhood Technology's Rain Ready Program 
3. Prioritize native plants. Explore USDA's Guide to Illinois to native plants.
4. Make sure your downspout is not directly connected to the sewer system.

Still have questions? Lou Chicago explains it all here: