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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Ripple is in Effect


Lights!  Camera!  Ripple!
Breaking News:  Independent filmmakers gathered at Athens own CinĂ© to strut the blue carpet, mingle with other local celebrities, and dine on delicious food from the Broad Street Coffee Vegan Restaurant.  After an hour of glamming it up, the sellout crowd moved into the theater for the debut of 17 incredible 30-second films, which had been submitted to the inaugural Ripple Effect Film Project.  Each film had a unique personality, but all had a focus on water conservation.  Audience members were asked to vote for their favorite shorts before viewing the EcoFocus’ Film Festival’s feature film, Last Call at the Oasis. 

Following the big picture of/for water conservation, the winners of the Ripple Effect were announced.  And the winners are… drum roll please….
Student Category
Best Conservation Message:  Hydrowoman Doesn't Exist, by Athens Academy, Global Challenges
Best Overall:  Get a Grip, Stop the Drip, by Tyler Ortel
Audience Choice Award:  Crazy Conservation, by Christian & Christie Marie Shupe (see the video below)



Adult Category

Best Production Quality:  Elio’s Big Splash, by Bryan Redding, Dan Jordan, and Ricardo, Tomas, & Elio Jiminez
Best Conservation Message:  Water is Life, by Lacey Avery
Best Overall:  Every Drop Counts, by Brody Bearden


Audience Choice Award:  Elio’s Big Splash, by Bryan Redding, Dan Jordan, and Ricardo, Tomas, & Elio Jiminez (see the video below!)






Thank you to all of the talented people involved in this project.  Plans for making the other videos available are in the works.  Check back on www.thinkatthesink.com or "like" the Water Conservation Office-Athens Clarke County on Facebook for updates. 

Monday, March 11, 2013

Ten Thousand Gallons

Guest Blog in honor of Fix a Leak Week!

By Veronica Blette

“Uh-oh, that can’t be good,” I thought as I entered my house to hear the sound of running water. I went upstairs to find that the flapper on my toilet had become stuck in the open position, which led to its earnest, yet futile, efforts to fill the bowl all day long. Yes, while I spent my day in the office trying to advance a nationwide ethic of water efficiency, water was running down my drain. My water bill for the month almost doubled as a result of that one day of wasted toilet filling.

So, what’s the connection with 10,000 gallons? That’s how much water we waste in our houses each year through leaks! Across the country, easy-to-fix household leaks add up to more than one trillion gallons of water lost annually, robbing homeowners of 12 percent of their water bill.
Less than one percent of the Earth’s water is available for human use, and managing water is a growing concern in the United States. Using water more efficiently and avoiding waste helps maintain supplies at safe levels now and for future generations.

That’s why we are encouraging homeowners to find and fix leaks during the third annual Fix a Leak Week, March 18 – 24, 2013. Be for water and start saving today with three simple steps:

1. Check
First, check your home for leaks. You can detect silent toilet leaks, a common water-wasting culprit, by adding food coloring to the toilet tank and waiting 10 minutes before flushing. If color appears in the bowl, your toilet has a leak.

2. Twist
Give leaking faucet and showerhead connections a firm twist to ensure that pipe connections are sealed tight. For additional savings, twist WaterSense labeled aerators onto bathroom faucets to use 30 percent less water without noticing a difference in flow.

3 .Replace
If you just can’t nip that drip, it may be time to replace the fixture. Look for WaterSense labeled models, which use at least 20 percent less water and are independently certified to perform as well as or better than standard models.

Don’t find yourself in my shoes. Take these simple steps and reduce the potential for leaks lurking in your life. Want to do more? Join my team and thousands of your neighbors by supporting the We’re for Water campaign. Visit take the I’m for Water pledge and “like” WaterSense on Facebook.

About the author: Veronica Blette leads EPA’s WaterSense program. Veronica has been with the Agency for more than thirteen years and, going forward, will always make sure the toilet is not running before she goes to work.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Where does your water go?




In a recent Facebook post, we asked all of you what you wanted to learn from the blogs.  We had a popular response from Stephanie Sharp who wanted to know:
"Interesting figures like average gallons used per shower, bath, dishwasher, washing machine...help me extrapolate!"
Extrapolate, we shall!  First, let's look at where the "average" family consumes most of their water:
Pie chart showing indoor water usage. Shower: 16.8% Toilet: 26.7% Faucet: 15.7% Clothes washer: 21.7% Leaks: 13.7% Other: 5.3% 


Toilet- 26.7%
Clothes Washer- 21.7%
Shower: 16.8%
Faucet: 15.7%
Leaks: 13.7%
Other: 5.3%

Since a majority of water goes to flushing the toilet, washing clothes, and taking showers, let's explore those.

Water Sense 


Toilets
-Toilets installed before 1993 use between 3.5 and 7 gallons of water every flush, toilets installed between 1993 and 2012 use about 1.6 gallons per flush.  A new WaterSense labeled toilet uses no more than 1.28 gallons per flush.,

-Leaky Toilet?  Leaks can account for 13.7% of your water usage. You can waste 300-500 GALLONS of water every day from a leaky toilet.



How can you fix this?

1. Preventative Measures: Buy a WaterSense Toilet- They can save 75-80% more water than older toilets! Find more information at EPA's website.

2. Routine Checks: Check for leaks frequently!  Sometimes, you may have a leak even if you can't hear the toilet running.  The Water Conservation Office loves giving out blue Toilet Tabs, which can be placed in the tank of the toilet.  If you see blue in the bowl, you have a leak.  You can also do this by placing a few drops of food coloring in the tank.  Lowe's has a great video on how to do it!
Energy Star Appliance

Washing Machine
Did you know?  Washing machines can use 40-55 gallons of water per load!  

How can you reduce this?

1. Preventative Measures: When shopping for a new washing machine, look for those products that are energy efficient.   High efficiency Energy Star washing machines use less than 27 gallons per load.  They save water and electricity!

2. Routine Checks: Run your washer only when you have a full load.  If you must wash a smaller load, be sure to match the settings (small, medium, large, x-large) correctly in order to save water.




Shower
The shower can use about 7 gallons per minute. 

How can you reduce this?

1. Preventative Measures: The Water Conservation Office loves giving away water-efficient shower heads at special events, but you can also find them in hardware stores. They can save up to about 5 gallons per minute!

2. Routine Checks:  We recommend taking a five-minute shower, or less!  Look at these numbers:



With a 5 gallon per minute showerhead:
5 min shower= 35 gallons
10 min shower= 70 gallons
30 min shower=210 gallons
1 hr= 420 gallons

Multiply this by the number of people in your household, and you will realize how important it is to keep showers short and install a more efficient showerhead!


Well, that just about sums it up!  Those are the top three water consumptive activities inside your house, but here are a few more quick facts:
  • Baths: 28-36 gallons for full tub
  • Running Faucet: 3 gallons per minute (You can save here too by installing a WaterSense aerator available at the Water Conservation Office or at thea hardware store. Make sure to turn the faucet off when brushing your teeth!)
  • Dishwasher: 15 gallons per load (you can save here by using an Energy Star Dishwasher)
  • Lawn Watering: 3-10 gallons per minute (fyi, more plants die from overwatering during drought than from not watering enough.)

If you suspect you have a leaky faucet/bath, you can figure out how many gallons you are wasting by counting the number of drips per minute:
  • 60 drops/minute=192 gallons per month
  • 90 drops/minute=310 gallons per month
  • 120 drops/minute= 429 gallons per month

We hope that this post has been relevant and helpful to you!  Leave questions or comments below!

Here are links to useful websites:

Guide to Water Use
EPA's Indoor Water Use
Water Sense Product Search