What is conservation?

Conservation is a word that describes the act of protecting or keeping something from damage or loss.  It describes the idea of avoiding waste or the idea of using something carefully.

Information Sources for Water Conservation

Water Conservation Tips (TWDB Web Site)

Rainwater Harvesting (TWDB Web Site)

Water Smart (LCRA Web Site)

Water Conservation Tips

• Check your water meter while no water is being used. If the dials are moving then you have a water leak.
• Repair leaking faucets and toilets.
• Make sure automated lawn sprinklers are operating properly. Turn them off when it is raining or very windy.  If they water the payment, then they waste water.
• Learn about the principles of Xeriscape and utilize native plants as much as possible.
• Insulate hot water pipes to reduce the amount of water that must be run to get hot water to the faucet.
• When brushing teeth, turn the water off until it is time to rinse.
• Don’t use your toilet as a waste basket – every unneeded flush waste between 3 to 7 gallons.
• Scrape the dishes clean instead of rinsing them before washing. There is no need to rinse unless they are heavily soiled.
• Use water-wise plants. Learn what types of grass, shrubbery, and plants do best in the area and in which parts of the lawn, and then plant accordingly.  Choose plants that have low water requirements, are drought-tolerant, and are adapted to the area of the state where they are to be planted.

Did You Know….

• It takes one gallon of water to process a quarter pound of hamburger.
• Two-thirds of your body is made up of water.

• We’re drinking the same water that the dinosaurs drank. Water has been on earth for billions of years. Water cycles from the earth to the air and to the Earth continuously.  This means that your last drink of water could have been used by a dinosaur. 

• Three hundred million gallons of water are needed to produce a single day’s supply of the world’s newsprint.

• In a one hundred year period, an average water molecule spends 98 years in the ocean, 20 months as ice, about two weeks in lakes and rivers, and less then that a week in the atmosphere.