While you're carefully watching your water usage, it's important to make sure that water is not slipping away due to undetected leaks in your system. Here's a simple procedure that can tell you if you have a leak and how much water you're losing.

1. Locate your water meter. It is usually located near the street in front of your home.
2. Read the meter twice – first at night after the day's water use has ended, and again in the morning before any water is used.
3. Subtract the first number from the second reading to tell how much water (if any) leaked out overnight.
4. If you suspect a leak, your pipes and connections should be checked and repaired quickly.

The toilet is a common source of unnoticed leaks. Undetected, hundreds of gallons of water can be wasted each day. Often leaks occur when the toilet is out of adjustment or parts are worn. Listening carefully for the sound of running water is a good way to detect a possible leak. Food coloring or a dye tablet added to the tank will also reveal water leaking into the toilet bowl. Drop it in the tank and don’t flush. If the water in the bowl turns color, you have a leak.

If you suspect a leak and need assistance in determining its location, please call our local office.

MORE WAYS TO SAVE WATER IN YOUR GARDEN

1. Water in the cool parts of the day to cut down on evaporation.
2. Add compost to your soil to improve its water-holding capacity.
3. Check for and repair leaky hose connections and sprinkler valves. Small leaks can be very wasteful.
4. Ask your nursery person about low-water-using turf, and raise your lawnmower cutting height. Longer grass blades help shade each other and cut down on evaporation.
5. Don't over-water – water only when the soil is dry.
6. Water trees and shrubs – which have deep root systems – longer and less frequently than shallow-rooted plants, which require smaller amounts of water or more often.
7. When planting, remember that smaller-size container plants require less water to become established.

USE RECYCLED WATER TO SAVE EVEN MORE WATER IN YOUR GARDEN

Waste water may be the simplest way to stretch your water budget during the hot summer months. Gray water, which is recycled shower, bath, and laundry water, can be used to keep thirsty plants alive, but some precautions should be followed. Because gray water has not been disinfected, it could be contaminated. A careful, common-sense approach to the use of gray water, however, can virtually eliminate any potential hazard.