BAKERSFIELD,CA- Water is a finite resource so every drop counts. Officials with Kern Green say if everyone in the county saved 30 gallons a day, it would save 25 million gallons in the county daily.
The Environmental Protection Agency says the average person uses about 100 gallons of water a day.
"It's such a precious resource and I think people have taken it for granted," Sasha Windes, program director of Kern Green.
One of the the biggest water guzzlers are your sprinklers. Approximately each water zone uses 15 gallons per minute. On a system that runs for 15 minutes that's 225 gallons per zone. If you calculate five zones in a household, that's 1125 gallons a cycle.
"We have automatic sprinklers so what we water in the summer we water the same thing in the winter and we forget to change our automatic sprinklers," said Debra Watkins, manager at Alert Disaster Restoration.
Reducing the time to a ten minute cycle can save more than 350 gallons. Changing your hygiene routine can shave off dozens of gallons instantly. Brushing your teeth with the faucet on wastes two gallons per minute.
"You're supposed to brush your teeth three times a day, three minutes you can easily save ten gallons of water a day just by not running the water," said Watkins.
A twenty minute shower, depending on your shower head uses anywhere from 60 to 100 gallons.
"Every five minutes you cut down your shower, you're saving 12 gallons of water," said Watkins.
Grab that wrench and fix those leaky faucets. According to the EPA, household leaks can waste more than one trillion gallons annually in the U.S.
Another tip, do full loads of laundry. If you only need a few items washed, hand wash them instead and fill up your dishwasher.
The Environmental Protection Agency says the average person uses about 100 gallons of water a day.
"It's such a precious resource and I think people have taken it for granted," Sasha Windes, program director of Kern Green.
One of the the biggest water guzzlers are your sprinklers. Approximately each water zone uses 15 gallons per minute. On a system that runs for 15 minutes that's 225 gallons per zone. If you calculate five zones in a household, that's 1125 gallons a cycle.
"We have automatic sprinklers so what we water in the summer we water the same thing in the winter and we forget to change our automatic sprinklers," said Debra Watkins, manager at Alert Disaster Restoration.
Reducing the time to a ten minute cycle can save more than 350 gallons. Changing your hygiene routine can shave off dozens of gallons instantly. Brushing your teeth with the faucet on wastes two gallons per minute.
"You're supposed to brush your teeth three times a day, three minutes you can easily save ten gallons of water a day just by not running the water," said Watkins.
A twenty minute shower, depending on your shower head uses anywhere from 60 to 100 gallons.
"Every five minutes you cut down your shower, you're saving 12 gallons of water," said Watkins.
Grab that wrench and fix those leaky faucets. According to the EPA, household leaks can waste more than one trillion gallons annually in the U.S.
Another tip, do full loads of laundry. If you only need a few items washed, hand wash them instead and fill up your dishwasher.