Orange County brings in over 40% of our water from outside county lines. Southern California in general has a lot of problems with droughts and water security. These are big problems and issues that are hard for one person to solve. We appreciate everyone who is trying to do their part to keep their water usage to a minimum, but it can be overwhelming to try to fight against such a big issue. As plumbers, we know all about water conservation, but rather than approach it from a county or state perspective, we prefer to focus on individual families. The great news is your family doesn’t have to solve water shortage problems by yourself. You can use less water, benefitting yourself and your community. Let’s go over the importance of low-flow appliances in reducing water use.
Toilets
It may not be the most luxurious of your water-using appliances, but it is one of, if not the single most necessary one. Toilets can use a surprising amount of water especially if they were built a long time ago. Older toilets used as much as 6 gallons for every flush. That’s an insane and unnecessary amount of water! Today, a low-flow toilet can easily flush using only 1.6 gallons of water. That means you could be using 70% less water with just this one change!
Showerhead
Your showerhead is one of the biggest water users in your entire home. Again, there is so much room to save and conserve here. Older showerheads can use gallons and gallons of water every minute. A new low-flow unit can cut that usage by 40%. It can really make a big difference.
Ultimately, you can only have control of yourself and your family. There’s just no reason not to install low-flow appliances when you are saving yourself money on your bills and doing your part as a member of the community!
