Take Care of Texas is a statewide campaign from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that provides helpful information on Texas’ successes in environmental protection and encourages all Texans to help keep our air and water clean, conserve water and energy, reduce waste, and save a little money in the process!

In the Bathroom

• Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and save up to 2 gallons a minute. That’s up to 220 gallons a week for a family of four.
• Plug the sink instead of running the water to rinse your razor and save up to 200 gallons a month.
• A faucet leaking at a rate of one drop per second can waste up to 3,000 gallons of water a year.
• Reducing a 10-minute shower using a standard showerhead to 5 minutes will save 12.5 gallons of water in each occasion.
• Install more efficient fixtures. A water-efficient showerhead can save the average family 2,900 gallons of water and $70 in energy and water costs a year.
• Water-efficient toilets can save up to 13,000 gallons of water a year.
• If your toilet flapper doesn’t close properly after flushing, replace it.

In the Laundry Room

• Save up to 3,500 gallons of water a year by washing laundry only when the machine is full.

In the Kitchen

• Using an ENERGY STAR certified dishwasher will save you about 3,870 gallons of water over its lifetime

Outside

• Avoid watering your lawn or garden in the middle of the day. Watering before dawn and after dusk allows for water to be absorbed instead of evaporating in midday heat. [Do you know your irrigation schedule?]
• Collect and use rainwater. By collecting rainwater from just 10 percent of the residential roof area in Texas, we could conserve more than 31 billion gallons of water annually.

For more information, visit TakeCareofTexas.org. Stop by the LMUD district office located at 1097 Lohmans Crossing for more publications with water saving tips.