What can I do to conserve water?
Put a plastic bottle weighted with pebbles and filled with water in your toilet tank. Displacing water in this manner allows you to use less water with each flush. This saves 5-10 gallons a day. That's up to 300 gallons a month, even more for larger families. Better yet, for even greater savings, replace your water-guzzling 5-7 gallon flush toilet with a 1.5 gallon, ultra-low flush model. If your taking a shower, don't waste cold water while waiting for the hot water to reach the shower head. Catch that water in a container to use on your outside plants or to flush your toilet. This saves 200-300 gallons a month.
Check your toilets for leaks. Put dye tablets or food coloring into the tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, there's a leak that should be repaired. This saves 400 gallons a month.
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Savings three gallons a day.
If you wash dishes by hand -- and that's the best way -- don't leave the water running for rinsing. If you have two sinks, fill one with rinse water. If you only have one sink, use a spray device or short blasts instead of letting the water run. Saves 200-500 gallons a month.
Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator. This beats the wasteful habit of running tap water to cool it for drinking. Saves 200-300 gallons a month.
Don't defrost frozen foods with running water. Either plan ahead by placing frozen items in refrigerator overnight or defrost them in the microwave. Saves 50-150 gallons a month.
Did you know?
Producing 2.2 pounds of hamburger or steak by a typical beef cattle operation uses some 5,400 gallons of water
Producing 1 pound of bread requires 500 gallons of water
Producing 1 serving (8 oz.) of chicken requires 300 gallons of water
Growing one cotton t-shirt requires 256 gallons of water
Producing 1 egg requires over 100 gallons of water
Producing 1 serving (2 oz.) of pasta requires 36 gallons of water
Producing 1 serving (8 oz.) of milk requires 48 gallons of water
Producing 1 serving (4.3 oz.) of tomatoes requires 8 gallons of water
Producing a typical American Thanksgiving dinner for six people requires over 30,000 gallons of water
Pemberton Township Water Ordinance
186-16 Hours for sprinkling lawns and gardens
It shall be unlawful for the occupant of any premises or for any other person, partnership or corporation to use or permit the water supplies by the Township of Pemberton for sprinkling of lawns, flowers, shrubbery and gardens except as follows: from 6 AM - 9 AM daily during the months of June, July and August.
186-17 Applicable time standard
The hours mentioned hereinabove shall be standard or daylight savings time, whichever shall be in effect at the particular time the water is being used.
186-18 Water Waste
It shall be unlawful for the occupant of any premises or for any other person, partnership or corporation to permit the water supplied by the Township of Pemberton to run or escape unnecessarily by reason of breaks, open valves, open pipes or for any other reason whatsoever.
186-21 Violations and penalties
Any person, firm, corporation, association, or legal party whatsoever who shall violate or cause to be violated any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable for each offense by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. Each violation of a section of this article shall constitute a separate and distinct violation independent of any other section or subsection of this chapter.
Why Conserve?
Water conservation is the most cost-effective and environmentally sound way to reduce our demand for water. This stretches our supplies farther, and protects places like Pemberton Township. For example, the city of Los Angeles has grown by 1 million people since the 70s but still uses the same amount of water. Using less water also puts less pressure on our sewage treatment facilities, and uses less energy for water heating.