If It's Yellow, Let it Mellow and Other Conservation Tips!

Landscape gardening and toilets use the greatest amount of water in and around your home. During the summer 40 percent of municipal water is used for outdoor irrigation. On hot days as much as 3,000 gallons of water PER DAY PER HOME can easily be consumed.

So, these are two areas where you can easily conserve.

Toilets:

In the 1960s and 70s, people placed bricks in their toilets. Do you remember the slogan "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down"? Well, the same is true today. Many families are adopting the "number two flush" as a way to conserve. If you are too delicate for that, think about a low flow toilet. With new technology and improved low flow flushing, these items are much more consumer ready! You may end up with lots of money in your pocket at the end of the year! The city of Pullman offers rebates for efficient toilets. Check to see if your town has a toilet rebate program (2 flush toilet photo, courtesy jayallen).

Back to the "mellow yellow" idea: if we follow this mantra, we might save around 10 gallons per day of usable water.  With 300 million people in the U.S we could save 3 billion gallons of water every day.

Landscaping:

There are so many ways to conserve in your yard and garden. Here are just a few:

• Use an efficient irrigation system (like drip hoses) and pay attention to when you water: early in the morning is best. One long soak is much better than several light sprinkles.
• Mulch around your garden. This will help your plants retain moisture AND keep the weeds down, so you aren't tempted to use pesticides. Remember: those weeds are competing for moisture as well as garden space!
• Consider a smaller yard or just letting it go brown as the season heats up.
• Plant native plants that don't need irrigation once established.
• Divert downspouts so that they go out into the yard or garden. Better yet, install a simple rain barrel (see below!) to help with your watering needs.
• Think about a grey water irrigation system for your home.

Thanks to WSU, State of Washington Department of Ecology and the Washington State Department of Health for these tips.