How Does My Water Usage Rank?
The average Utah resident uses about 200 gallons of water per day. This includes both indoor and outdoor usage. To find out the amount of water that each person is using in your household, simply divide your total monthly usage by the amount of days in the month and then divide that figure by the number of people that live in your home. Now you can rate your water usage and come up with an action plan to implement some conservation tips to reduce your water usage today.
Benefits Of Performing A Water Audit On Your Property
Performing a water audit on your property both inside and out can help you save money by reducing the home’s water bill each month. The water audit will raise more awareness of how you use your water and help identify ways you can minimize water use by implementing conservation tips that are provided below. Gary Herbert, the governor of Utah, has set a goal for the state of Utah to reduce our water usage by 25% by the year 2025. This goal set by our governor is easily obtainable within your first year of performing a water audit without drastically modifying your lifestyle.
Water Audit
Start your water audit at the back of your meter barrel at the customer valve and trace your water line to your house.
If you have a yard hydrant then check it for leaks. A lot of times you can put your ear next to the faucet and hear running water. If you you can hear water running then you know you have a leak to fix.
If you have any kind of a drip system or other technology to water outside plants, check all the connections to make sure they are tight and that additional water isn’t leaking other than where it is supposed to. You can also minimize the evaporation buy using a few inches of mulch around your trees and plants that results in less water usage.
continue following your water line to the house and make sure to check all possible spots like outside faucets that could possibly be leaking as well. If theres not a visible leak from the outside there still could be a leak from the fittings on the inside so once again, put your ear up close to the faucet and check for a running water sound. If you hear anything, you know you have a leak.
Once you have completed a full water audit on the outside of your property, move to the inside by starting in the bathroom. Check your toilet first because leaks tend to be very common there. To find a leak at your toilet, get some food coloring and put a couple drops in the tank. Without flushing, wait thirty minutes and if there is color in the bowl, you know you have a leak. Check the faucets at both the sink and the tub for any dripping. Each drip may not be that much water wasted but after a week it adds up to be a lot.
Don’t forget to check all of the different appliances in the kitchen as well. They can leak just as easy in the same way as the other water connections.
Questions
If you have any questions whether you may or may not have a leak, Call the office at 435-644-3997 and we can dispatch one of our water masters to your property to come take a closer look. If a leak is detected, we will try and help to the best of our abilities.
