The Beauty of Water Conservation

People being people, population clusters are rarely planned. Someone looks at an arid desert and says, “Wow, that would make a great place for a major metropolitan area,” and boom, Los Angeles, or Las Vegas, or Tuscon pops up. The people are there, but water isn’t. Even in areas where water supply shouldn’t be a concern, over-building, sloppy agricultural practices, and polluted water supplies can all lead to a scarcity of this most valuable of resources.

It’s a micro as well as a macro problem. Agri-business sucks up major hydration, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the average household uses 260 gallons of water a day—so there’s a lot of room for savings all around. Conserving water is a smart, eco-friendly practice anywhere you live, but in drought-prone communities it can be a huge money-saver to boot, not to mention one that is often mandated by local regulations.

One of the easiest and least painful ways to conserve water is to upgrade small fixtures—sink and bathtub faucets, and showerheads—to low-flow versions. Finding just the right fixture for your bathroom, life and preferences is made easier with the WaterSense labeling program established by the EPA. Just check the label for the WaterSense logo; faucets and showerheads carrying the logo use up to 30 percent less water than standard fixtures, without a noticeable decrease in performance. Most major plumbing brands offer several WaterSense showerheads and faucets. WaterSense faucets are available in all the standard handle configurations, finishes and design styles, in prices from mid-$20s to $100 or more. The showerheads range in price from about $20, to around $70, with a few running more than $100. Price varies based on features such as multiple spray settings, special hand grips and, of course, styling. Learn more about the EPA’s WaterSense program and labeled fixtures at www.epa.gov/watersense.

The Waterpik EcoFlow NSC-653EF

hand-held shower head features

 6 spray settings, a stylish chrome

 finish, and a flow rate of 2 gpm. 

Photo courtesy of Waterpik (www.waterpik.com).

Start with your showerhead. The typical low-flow showerhead uses 2.5 gallons of water per minute (gpm) or less, in contrast to the 5.5 to 6 gallons that was standard for showerheads before 1992. Given the average 10-minute shower, it’s pretty easy math to see how savings add up quickly.

Older low-flow heads weren’t so good at striking the balance between conserving water and providing an invigorating spray, but modern versions bring the blast. High-efficiency showerheads abound, and come in both handheld and stationary styles. Kohler (www.kohler.com/conservation) offers high-performance, water-conserving showerheads and “handshowers” (Kohler’s term for handheld sprayheads), under the MasterShower® Ecofficient™ mark. These products offer flow rates as low as 2 gpm. Waterpik (www.waterpik.com/shower-head/ecoflow.html) has joined the environmentally friendly parade with its stylish EcoFlow® showerheads that feature ergonomic handheld designs and flow rates as low as 1.6 gpm. Moen (www.moen.com) manages that same low-flow in super high style with their Eco-Performance showerheads, “spa” bodies and steam features. Moen offers high-end finishes and some of the most beautiful (and pricey) high-efficiency shower fixtures available.

American Standard's Portsmouth faucet

is a WaterSense fixture with contemporary

styling. Photo courtesy of American Standard 

(www.americanstandard-us.com).

Faucets are ripe for savings as well. The EPA estimates that adding WaterSense faucets to your bathrooms and kitchen can save up to 500 gallons of water each year. American Standard offers a wealth of super stylish WaterSense faucets (www.americanstandard-us.com/water-efficiency/watersense). Other companies offer new water-conserving faucet technology. Delta’s Touch2O® faucets (www.deltafaucet.com) incorporate technology that allows the faucet to be turned on with a touch, and that automatically shuts the faucet off when hands are moved away from it. KWC Faucets (kwcamerica.com) offers Coolfix faucets with a single lever handle that runs cold in the standard “six-o’clock” position, in which most faucets combine hot and cold water. The user must rotate the lever for warm water. This simple change can save on heating bills.

JADO's Savina  faucet is a classic look

with water-sipping efficiency. Photo

courtesy of JADO (www.jadousa.com)

Aerators are another easy way for renters and homeowners to save significant amounts of water. Faucets produced before 1994 usually aren’t equipped with an aerator, and adding one is a simple and quick project. You can find aerators at home centers for less than $5 (although more expensive WaterSense aerators can run $10 to $15). Similar devices are available for use on showerheads, including flow control inserts and control valves that are installed between the shower pipe extension and the showerhead.

Adding low-flow fixtures to your bathroom suite isn’t just a matter of saving money. Because so much of the water used in the bathroom is heated, using less water means heating less, which translates to lower energy costs over the long run. In any case, water conservation in the home carries both financial and ecological benefits.