A Do-It-Yourself
Water Conservation Audit

A water "audit" is a review of your water use patterns, water fixtures, appliances, etc. to find ways to conserve water and reduce your monthly water and sewer bill.
The following checklist will help you review your home or business for conservation opportunities, many of which have limited or no cost. Most of the items below relate to residences, but many should be useful for businesses and other non-residential customers.

General:

If you receive monthly bills from OWASA, review them (or contact OWASA to request information on your past water use) to see whether your residential water use is above or below the average in our community. For a single-family residence, the average water use over a full year is 6,000 gallons per month. (The average is lower for apartment and condominium residences.)

Bathrooms:

Check your toilet for leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank and not flushing for about 30 minutes. If the color appears in the toilet bowl, the flapper at the bottom of the tank probably leaks. (In some cases, the flush valve in the tank may malfunction and cause water to flow from the tank to the bowl, but flapper leaks are more common.) Replace the flapper or have a plumber do so. A leaking flapper can waste many thousands of gallons per month.

If a toilet was installed before 1994, it probably uses two to three times as much water as a new low-flush toilet. There are several ways to conserve:

Consider replacing the toilet with a new model. The cost with installation may be about $200, depending on the model you select. A new toilet can pay for itself in a few years by reducing your water and sewer bill every month.

Place one or two plastic bottles (weighted with sand or pebbles) in the toilet tank to reduce the flush volume. (Please make sure the bottle(s) do not interfere with the flapper or other operating parts of the toilet.)

Install a quick-closing flapper in your toilet if it was installed before 1994. OWASA often gives away these flappers in our office at 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro. (Please call us first to check availability if you wish to pick one up.)

Take short showers. And, if your showerhead has a built-in valve, you can easily turn off the water while lathering up.

If you have a showerhead installed before 1994, replace it with a newer model that conserves water with a smaller flow rate. OWASA often gives away low flow showerheads in our office at 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro. (Please call us first to check availability if you wish to pick one up.)

Check faucets, showerheads, the water supply pipes connected to your toilets and sinks, etc. for leaks about once per month. Even a small leak can waste a significant volume of water if not fixed for weeks or months.

Turn water off at the faucet while brushing your teeth, washing your hands or shaving. Reduce the water flow and/or install an aerator (on faucets that have threading for an aerator) to conserve further.

Kitchen:

Repair leaky faucets.

Install a faucet aerator (if the faucet has threading for an aerator) to lower the water flow rate. Please note that aerators may need to be periodically cleaned.)

If your faucet aerator was installed before 1994, consider replacing it with a new model with a lower flow rate.

Use your dishwasher only for full loads.

Turn faucets off when water is not needed for rinsing, cleaning or washing.

Consider installing an energy and water efficient dishwasher. Please visit the EPA's EnergyStar Website, www.energystar.gov/products, for more information on various appliance models.

If you have a garbage disposal unit (grinder) under the sink, consider having it disconnected and putting food scraps, etc. in a garbage can instead. Reducing the amount of solid particles going down the drain will help keep the drains clear as well as conserving water and energy used in a garbage disposal.

Laundry:

Use your washing machine only for full loads

Consider installing an energy and water efficient washing machine such as a front loader. Please visit the EPA's EnergyStar Website, www.energystar.gov/products, for more information on various appliance models.

Outdoors:

Review your water bills over the last year or two to compare your water use during the summer with that in the winter months. If there is a large difference, you may be able to conserve water substantially by doing less irrigation, reducing the areas that need irrigation, irrigating more efficiently, having drought-resistant plants, etc. Please click here [This is a link to the waterwise landscaping conservation links part of our site] for information about water-efficient landscaping and/or see the additional items below.

Install automatic shut-offs on outdoor water hoses for hand watering plants, washing vehicles, etc.

If you have an irrigation system, have a person or company that specializes in these systems review the control system settings, configuration of watering zones, etc. to ensure that you are not wasting water. With the slow water absorption rates of clay soils that are typical in our community, sprinkling times should be limited to avoid waste. Get advice about the "cycle and soak" method from an irrigation specialist.

Install a rain sensor on your irrigation system if you have not already, so that the system will not operate during or soon after rainfall.

Inspect your irrigation system, if you have one, for leaks in and damage to hoses, sprinkler heads, etc.

Do not irrigate in windy conditions, which increase evaporation of water.

Water before sunrise (and no later than 9 am at the latest) or after 8 pm to reduce water loss from evaporation.

Consider planting a drought-resistant grass (such as Bermuda) that tolerates droughts and other dry weather well and therefore needs no irrigation or less water than "cool season" grasses such as fescues. It is possible to establish an attractive lawn that needs only rainwater!

Or, reduce the size of lawn areas by planting drought-resistant groundcovers, shrubs, trees, flowers and other ornamental plants, etc.

If you decide to landscape an area or establish or re-establish a lawn area, till the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches and enrich it with organic matter such as pine bark particles (not peat moss). Proper soil preparation is very important for plant health, root growth and drought resistance.

Plants that receive similar watering should be grouped together.

Water by hand or consider installing a drip irrigation, micro-spray, soaker hose or bubbler system to water trees, shrubs and gardens. The latter systems are much more efficient than spray irrigation because they lose less water to evaporation.

Mulch around plants to reduce water loss due to evaporation.

Aerate your lawn every 2 or 3 years for better water absorption and for healthier, more drought-resistant turf.

Set your lawn mower's cutting height to 1-2½" for Bermuda grass or 2½-3" for fescue and blue grass to reduce evaporation of water from the soil.

If your mower cuts grass clippings finely (or if you have a mulching mower), leave the clippings on the lawn as a natural fertilizer.

Consider rainwater harvesting with a detention pond, by installing a cistern or using rain barrels (but remember that controlling mosquitoes is very important if you catch rainwater).

Use a pool cover or styrofoam floats to reduce evaporation if you have a swimming pool.

The checklist above is intended to cover items that may provide the most effective and practical conservation opportunities for many customers. If you would like to have more detailed information about water conservation, pleased contact us at 968-4421, send an e-mail to webmaster@owasa.org or see the additional conservation items on our Website including conservation-related Website links.