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Did you know that an average garden hose flows at at a rate of 10 to 16 gallons per minute? A broken sprinkler head wastes approximately 300 gallons of water per hour! Viewer Tip: With less than one percent of freshwater available for human use, water conservation is extremely important.  Help reduce your outdoor water [...]

The average American family of four uses 400 gallons of water per day – much of that water is used in the bathroom.  Installing low flow shower heads and faucet aerators are some of the most effective water conservation measures you can take at home. These devices can reduce water consumption by as much as [...]

Earth Gauge Video is available for this tip. Do you like a beautiful yard, but not the time, effort and money required to maintain it? In hot, dry climates, the water required to maintain a lush landscape can be costly. Just one lawn sprinkler operating three times per week can use more than 1,000 gallons [...]

Did you know in the arid West, an estimated 90 percent of desert wildlife relies on riparian areas for at least some part of their life cycles? Riparian areas are ecosystems that exist near a body of water and form vital linkages between streams and the surrounding uplands. Habitats in the Southwest face many of [...]

Friday, April 30 is National Arbor Day.  Trees add beauty to our landscape, but they also provide many environmental benefits: Just one acre of forest puts out about four tons of oxygen – enough for four people for an entire year. Adding trees around your home can increase its value by up to 15 percent. One [...]

This week is National Environmental Education Week (EE Week), the nation’s largest environmental education event held each year the week before Earth Day to inspire environmental learning and stewardship among students and the public. This year’s EE Week theme is “Be Water and Energy Wise,” highlighting the water-energy connection and the importance of conserving both [...]

Showering accounts for about 17 percent of residential indoor water use – up to 30 gallons of water per household per day. According to EPA, we use 1.2 trillion gallons of water every year in the U.S. just for showering. That’s enough water to meet the water needs of New York and New Jersey for [...]

Did you know that the average American household uses about two-thirds of its water outside? Most is used to water lawns and as much as half of that water is wasted by inefficient watering, either too often or at the hottest part of the day when water evaporates quickly. When we conserve water at home, [...]

You may as well collect! The upcoming dry summer months are probably the last thing on your mind during heavy late winter and spring rains. At this time of year, it may seem like it will never dry out, but it’s important to remember that a hot summer is just around the corner. So why not collect that [...]

The Great Lakes account for nine-tenths of North America’s surface freshwater, but less than one percent of their water is renewed each year by snow and rain. It would take 100 years for nature to replace even one gallon of water lost from the lakes. This slow recharge rate means we must take care to [...]

We don’t often associate the desert with trout habitat, but the gila (HEEL-a) trout, or “trout of the desert,” is a unique species that lives in the arid climate of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.  Unfortunately, the gila trout has suffered severe population declines over the past 100 years and currently occupy only a fraction [...]

This Halloween, take a minute to teach your little G.I. Joes and Cinderellas a thing or two about conserving water when it’s time to brush their teeth after all those treats. Viewer Tip: Turning off the tap while you brush your teeth saves eight gallons per day, adding up to enough water in a year to take [...]

Most people don’t realize the considerable amount of energy it takes to deliver, treat and heat the water they use. In fact, American public water supply and treatment facilities consume about 56 billion kilowatt-hours per year—enough electricity to power more than five million homes for an entire year. In California, water-related energy use accounts for [...]

If the water we use is replenished by precipitation, why do we need to save it? The short answer is that while water can be purified and reused over and over thanks to the natural water cycle and wastewater treatment technology, it may not be available everywhere—or every time—it’s needed. When we all use water [...]

Did you know that at least 30 percent of the water you use at home is outdoors? In drier parts of the country, homeowners use as much as 70 percent of their water outdoors. Viewer Tip: This autumn, look for ways to be more water-efficient and fall into good water habits. Adjust your watering schedule [...]

Fall is the best time to see salmon returning to spawn in Puget Sound and Olympic Peninsula rivers.  Plenty of water is needed for salmon to swim upstream and successfully reproduce.  After salmon lay their eggs in the gravel stream beds, they die. The eggs are left on their own and rely on a flow [...]

Nationwide, Americans use more than seven billion gallons of water per day to water lawns and gardens.  That’s enough water to fill more than 10,700 Olympic-sized swimming pools!  Look for drought-tolerant plants to help reduce your outdoor water use. Water Guzzlers: Plants with dark, glossy, large leaves tend to require more water because more leaf [...]

Did you know that you can have a big impact on water and energy use by upgrading bathroom fixtures in your home? Faucets: Installing WaterSense labeled faucets or faucet aerators in your bathrooms could reduce your household’s annual water use by more than 500 gallons and save 70 kilowatt-hours of electricity used for heating the [...]

Everyone knows that hot, dry weather can be a killer in the garden.  Conserving water isn’t just for desert gardens or times of drought, though – it’s something you can do in any part of the country at any time of the year. Viewer Tip: The National Wildlife Federation offers these tips to conserve water [...]

Did you know that more water is used in July in most states than any other month? The U.S. EPA estimates that up to 50 percent of water used for outdoor irrigation is wasted due to evaporation, wind or overwatering.  Some homes can lose up to 70 gallons per day! Viewer Tip: July is Smart [...]