Saving water starts with no cost and low cost actions that are easy to implement around your home. For more savings, consider investing in conservation upgrades.
No Cost
- Run full loads of laundry and dishes.
- Turn on the tap only when you need to rinse. Don’t let the water run unnecessarily when you brush your teeth, lather up, shave or wash dishes.
- Take shorter showers
- Adjust your watering schedule (PDF). Turn off irrigation in the winter and only water manually if absolutely necessary. During the growing season, irrigate early or late in the day (before 10 am or after 7 pm).
- Take your car to a commercial car wash that recycles their wash water. If you do wash your car at home, use a bucket and sponge, not a hose.
- Cover your pool to reduce evaporation.
Low Cost
- Mulch! Three inches of mulch maintains soil moisture and reduces evaporation.
- Examine your sprinklers and adjust them so they water your plants, not your walls or sidewalk.
- Check your outdoor irrigation equipment for leaks. Run through all of your stations to look for broken or misadjusted heads.
Invest in Conservation
- Install a high-efficiency toilet.
- Install a high-efficiency clotheswasher.
- Install a high-efficiency dishwasher
- Convert your thirsty lawn to a sustainable landscape.
- Install a self-adjusting irrigation controller and a drip irrigation system.
- Select drought-tolerant plants better adapted to our California climate.