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EPA PROMOTES WATER EFFICIENCY IN THE HOME
Release Date: 02/28/2002
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2002
EPA PROMOTES WATER EFFICIENCY IN THE HOME
Robin Woods 202-564-7841 / woods.robin@epa.gov
EPA is promoting water efficiency in the home by offering on-line information on saving water and reducing utility costs. Water efficiency is an important part of protecting human health and the environment. Using water efficiently can help improve water quality, protect valuable sources of drinking water, reduce the cost of drinking water and wastewater treatment, maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems and mitigate drought impacts. Water efficiencies in the home can be improved by detecting and fixing leaky faucets, installing high efficiency clothes washers and toilets and watering the lawn and garden with the minimum amount of water needed. Fixing a silent toilet leak may save as much as 500 gallons per day. Installing high efficiency plumbing fixtures and appliances can help a typical family of four reduce indoor water use by one-third, save about $95 per year on its water and sewer bill and cut energy use by as much as six percent. Watering the landscape with an automatic irrigation system may likely be the single largest use of water in the home and can be dramatically improved by using proper irrigation and scheduling techniques such as cycling the sprinklers. Using all of these techniques will also reduce impacts on rivers, lakes and streams. Water efficiency continues to play an important role not only in protecting water sources and improving water quality, but also in reducing the amount of energy used to treat, pump and heat water -- currently about eight percent of U.S. energy demand. Water heating accounts for 19 percent of home energy use. If 20 percent of U.S. homes used high efficiency clothes washers, national energy savings could be 285 billion BTUs per day – enough to supply the needs of over one million homes. Additional information can be found on the following link: Water Saver Home at: http://www.h2ouse.net - Learn what you can do to reduce water use in your home -- take a virtual tour of this Water Saver Home developed by the California Urban Water Conservation Council in partnership with EPA.
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