Take a look at the ground in your yard, and you may note distressingly parched turf, powdery and loose even in the cold weather.  In October 2016, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy asked residents and businesses to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 15% in “Drought Watch” areas and by 10% in “Drought Advisory” areas.  Connecticut has had three consecutive years of precipitation shortfall, with some drinking water reservoirs now less than half full.  Unfortunately, this water shortage is continuing into 2017, and recovery will need continuing conservation efforts from residents.

How bad is the current drought condition?  As of February 2, 2017, though the situation has improved slightly, the area of the state categorized as “Extreme Drought” stands at 38%, and the area categorized as “Severe Drought” is 76%.  We’re currently experiencing higher-than-average wet weather, but recovery of normal water levels will require many months of precipitation.  This underlines the importance of water conservation.

There are lots of things you can do around the house to help conserve water.  As gardeners, we’re familiar with some of the spring, summer, and fall measures, like using rain barrels and setting drought-tolerant plants in our landscapes.  Household conservation is still applicable in winter, though — see how many of these tips you’re using or can start implementing today:

Quick and Easy

1. Fix faucet and toilet leaks.
2. Ensure hot water pipes are insulated.
3. Switch from baths to showers.  On average, a bath uses 35 gallons of water!
4. Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth or shaving.
5. Instead of running the faucet for cold drinking water, keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator.

Stepping up Your Game

1. Shorten your shower time.  If you typically take a 15 minute shower, can you shorten your time to 10 minutes or less?
2. When you do run water at the faucet, use a lower flow.  Consider whether you need a full stream or if a gentler, lower stream would suffice — do you really need a full blast of water to wet your toothbrush or rinse that fruit?
3. Collect water from these activities for use in watering your house plants:
   a. Rinsing pasta, rice, and vegetables
   b. Boiling water for vegetables
   c. Running water to a desired temperature
4. If you have baseboard hot water heating, turn down the temperature at your thermostat.

For a Challenge!

1. Take “field showers.”  These are showers in the style used when camping with a limited clean water supply.  Run the water only for the initial and lather-removing rinses — in between, shut the water off.
2. Since you’ll likely collect more water than you’ll ever be able to use on house plants alone, use collected water to flush your toilets.  Since older toilets use anywhere from 3.5 to 7 gallons of water (and water efficient models use around 1.5 gallons) per flush, using your collected water will make a big difference.

Not only will you be helping with conservation efforts, but you will also be saving money on your water and energy bills!  For more ideas, including how to select energy efficient appliances and how to conserve water outdoors, check out these resources:

US Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense Partnership Program

Aquarion Connecticut Water Conservation