RESOURCE EFFICIENCY PROGRAM

WATER EFFICIENCY IN THE WORKPLACE AND HOME
How to use water more efficiently

CHECK for leaks in toilets and sinks & fix ASAP. Toilet bowls can leak without sound--test 2x per year or replace completely. You can check for quiet leaks with toilet leak detection tablets (see below), or put 10 drops of food dye into the tank…after 15 minutes, if the dye shows up in the toilet bowl, you have a leak. Fix it immediately.

Why replace you toilet if not leaking much? 10% of electricity in CA is used for water treatment and pumping--all that power is used to create water so clean it would drinkable if not in your toilet--and a leak just wastes it right down the drain, unused.

City of Corvallis utility customers are eligible to receive:
• water audits--checks flow rates & calculates the water & energy savings you could realize if you were to follow the
recommendations they give--also, irrigation audits are available in Summer months
• water conservation devices like low-flow shower heads
• sink aerators--2.2 gallons per minute (gpm) for kitchen sinks, 1.5 gpm for bathroom sinks. Utility sinks are not
recommended for aeration.
• Drip meters, to help you calculate the amount of water a dripping faucet is wasting.
• Toilet tank water displacement devices or adjustable toilet flappers and toilet leak detection tablets
• Rebates for purchase of water efficient washer or retrofit of an older toilet (applies to select models) (up to $75 cash
back!)
• FYI re: toilet tank displacement: Some people choose to lower the water level to get lower flush volume--this is a BAD idea--it takes water out of the top of the tank which affects proper flushing--instead you should take it out of the bottom by using a toilet tummy or pop bottle filled with gravel, a toilet dam, open canning jar filled with water, or some other water displacement device. Make sure whatever you put in there is far away from the mechanism or it can jam it up which will waste water. Do NOT use a brick--piece can break off and get into the mechanism.
• Customers have already paid for these services through their utility bills, so they available at no additional cost.
• City of Corvallis utility customers can also receive Pollution audits for households. Call Diana Sharps at 766-6454.
• Look at website http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us & search for water conservation, or call Mark Taratoot 766-6916.

Resources: Get SMART! Resource Efficiency Program; City of Corvallis--Mark Taratoot; also, please see our great Resource Efficiency website list.

For a printable version of these tips, click here.