WATERSENSE® Strategies

From the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

By making just a few small changes to your daily routine, you can save a significant amount of water, which will help you save money and preserve water supplies for future generations. Water-efficient plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems provide the same performance and quality you've come to expect, but with the added benefit of water savings. The WaterSense label will help you identify high-efficiency products and programs for certified irrigation professionals.

Challenge: Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year.
Solution: If you're unsure whether you have a leak, read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak.

Challenge: A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water every day.
Solution: To tell if your toilet has a leak, place a drop of food coloring in the tank; if the color shows in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak.

 CLEAN WATER TIPS of the Month

• Don't send your hazardous waste to the landfill. Take it to the solid waste facility at 1033 Elm Street. For more information, call the Knoxvville OFFICE of SOLID WASTE at 865-215-4311.
• Washing your car in your driveway or street can introduce soap, oil and engine grime into our creeks and lakes. Using a commercial car wash allows chemicals to be filtered and sent to a wastewater treatment facility for cleaning. Washing your car in the grass will allow the ground to absorb and filter the water before it makes its way to our water table. Soap is for dishes, not fishes!

GREEN VOCABULARY -

How good is yours?

With so many new environmental buzz-words, becoming eco-friendly is an ongoing learning process; HERE ARE SOME WORDS to expand your "Green Vocabulary".