Turning off the water while brushing your teeth and taking shorter showers are some of the more common ways people try to use less water.
However, are those two minutes with the water off actually making a difference in the water conservation process?
Indiana State University conducted a survey that found some confusion in terms of water conservation. According to the survey, most people underestimate the amount of water they use on a daily basis. They also believe cutting back on their water usage is the most effective way to save water, as opposed to replacing appliances and fixing leaks.
Amy Carpus, an efficiency program coordinator at Gainesville Regional Utilities, said the small efforts add up, but it is even more important to understand your consumption.
“The best message is to be aware of what you are doing and how much water it is actually using, and then go from that point,” Carpus said. “Learn what you’re doing now and figure out ways you can trim where you are comfortable trimming your water use, and then slowly work your way toward the stuff that you’re maybe not willing to do."
By shortening a 10-minute shower down to five minutes, Carpus said you can save close to 1,000 gallons of water per person per month in the household, but you should always shoot to reach a higher conservation goal.
However, if you want to reach that higher goal, you have to be willing to spend an extra buck.
Appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and toilets are starting to be made with new water-saving technologies that come with a price. New low-flow toilets now use less than two gallons of water per flush.
About half of water consumption is also used outside on lawns and landscaping. Instead of using the drinking water taken from the aquifers to water yards, GRU has about 1,500 customers using reclaimed water for irrigation. This process serves as a way to help preserve aquifers and to replenish the water taken from them.
The water reclamation process is actively putting back thousands of gallons of water into the aquifers to replenish their levels.
As a whole, GRU's residential customers use only 71 gallons of water per person per day, as opposed to the national average of 109 gallons.
“I think a lot of people do know how to efficiently conserve water, but it’s a matter of balancing your knowledge with what you’re willing to pay for,” Carpus said.
Although the small efforts of taking shorter showers and turning off the water while brushing your teeth do make a difference, they are not as efficient as water-saving technologies. Those who want to make a bigger difference will find the best way to do it is to understand their water consumption, set a conservation goal and reach it.