Learning to conserve water is easy. It is only a matter of using the water we need more efficiently.
Saving Water in the Bathroom
Toilets: Did you know the American Water Works Association (AWWA) estimates that toilets use the most water indoors at an average of 20 gallons per person per day? That adds up to 7,200 gallons per person per year. Toilet engineering has come a long way since 1994. High efϐiciency toilets (HETs) are more powerful than older toilets and use only 1.28 gallons per ϐlush. Toilets older than 1994 use between 3 and 5 gallons per flush. Some very old toilets use up to 7 gallons per ϐlush! By installing one of these new HETs you can save over 4,000 gallons per person per year. If you are a Dallas Water Utilities customer you may qualify for a voucher to help replace up to two toilets in your home. Go to our New Throne for Your Home Toilet Replacement Program page for information on the toilet replacement program.
Check your toilet for leaks, and repair them promptly. Toilets frequently leak around the flapper valve, wasting 200 gallons or more per day. To check for leaks, put a few drops of food coloring in the tank of your toilet. Do not flush the toilet for 10 to 15 minutes. After that time, if the bowl shows traces of food coloring, you have a leak. The flapper valve of the toilet should be checked in this manner at least once a year. Be sure to replace the flapper valve with the correct size for your toilet. The wrong size will significantly reduce your toilet’s efficiency.
Bathing: At five to 10 gallons a minute, a 10 minute shower can use as much as 100 gallons of water. Take shorter showers and install a low‐ϐlow showerhead (one that dispenses less than 3 gallons per minute). You can have an invigorating shower, with no reduction in water pressure and still use half the water of a less efficient showerhead. Newer showerheads have switches that allow you to stop the water flow while soaping up or washing your hair.
Also: Turn off your faucet when brushing your teeth or shaving.