World Water Day 2017: Gadgets That Help You Save Water

Clean and fresh water is a renewable resource many people in the world don’t have access to and every year the United Nations hosts World Water Day on March 22 to raise awareness around water. This year the focus is on wastewater.

More than 663 million people worldwide live without clean water close to where they live. The water crisis touches the lives of people all across the globe, even in the U.S. people in Flint, Michigan have gone without safe water since April 2014.

With proposed budget cuts to the EPA and a signed executive order aimed at dismantling clean water rules, it’s important to know what you can do to help keep water clean.

There are a number of ways to help by only slightly altering your daily life. Consuming less water is not only good for the environment but it can also save you money and in some cases, time too. Here are some gadgets to help you consume less water and create less wastewater.

Low flush toilets:

Most new toilets are already water efficient, but if you have an older toilet with a large tank, you can easily save thousands of gallons of water every year by adding the product Drop-A-Brick to your toilet tank. The brink takes up space in the tank so that it fills with less water and uses less water with every flush. The brick is ecologically designed so it’s perfectly safe to keep in the tank. Alternatively you can fill up a water jug or bottle and add that to your tank.

Shower timer:

A shower timer could help you keep your showers limited and subsequently your wastewater down too. The average flow rate of a shower head is around two gallons per minute, so by cutting your shower by even a minute a day, you could save 14 gallons a week, that’s a grand total of more than 700 gallons a year. There are a number of inexpensive timers out there that are waterproof, but this one in the shape of a duck is particularly cute.

Water aerator:

A water faucet aerator either for a sink or for a shower can help you conserve water by reducing water without reducing pressure. Aerators add air to the stream to make less water feel like more. It breaks up the water into a number of small streams rather than one large one. They’re easy and inexpensive to add to your faucets. You can find them at your local hardware store or online.

Smart sprinklers and drip irrigation systems:

Some automatic lawn care systems water your lawn rain or shine at the same time every day. But a smart sprinkler system can monitor the weather to water your yard just the right amount, that way you only use the water you really need. Many of these systems can match up with your smartphone for easy control. They are however a little pricey like the well-reviewed Rachio Smart Sprinkler Control. Drip irrigation systems on the other hand are less expensive and localized to the roots of your plants or garden, so you don’t waste any water wetting the leaves or the grass. These vary in size and in price.