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Water Conservation Kits Program
Many people look at a leaky faucet in their home and don’t really think
about how much water might be wasted. They’re often surprised to learn
that a leak of just 60 drops per minute can waste approximately 192 gallons
a month, or nearly 2,500 gallons per year! A toilet leak can be even more wasteful,
potentially losing up to hundreds of gallons a day.
To help reduce these and other household wastes of our valuable water supply,
Redwood City is offering free home water conservation kits to residents requesting
them. These kits will help residents detect leaks in faucets and toilets, determine
if their fixtures are water efficient, and offer tips on how to make their
homes “water tight and waste free.
Here’s what’s included in the free water conservation kit:
- A faucet sink aerator, and a variable dual setting kitchen faucet aerator
with swivel to maximize water efficiency in a household’s sinks;
- A showerhead flow meter to calculate a shower’s water waste and savings
potential;
- A drip gauge for detecting faucet leaks;
- A pack of leak detector dye tablets to check for toilet leaks;
- A flush volume calculator to determine how much water is used for each
toilet flush;
- A “saving water” brochure that teaches residents how to make
their homes ‘water tight and waste-free;”
- A brochure and order form featuring products that will help a household
to save water, energy, and money.
There are several ways to obtain a free kit, as shown below. Residents
must supply their water account number and address at the time of the request.
- Call the Public Works Services Department at (650) 780-7464.
- Pick up a kit from the Public Works Services Department, located at 1400
Broadway.
- Pick up a kit at City Hall, located at 1017 Middlefield Road.
Redwood City offers these water conservation tips to help save water every
day:
- Do an indoor water audit and find the leaks;
- Install water saving showerheads, faucet aerators, and water displacement
bags;
- When replacing toilets, use ultra low-flush models;
- When replacing dishwasher or clothes washer, use water-saving models;
- Do only full loads in your dishwasher or clothes washer;
- Don’t let water run while shaving, brushing teeth, or washing hands;
- Recycle freshwater aquarium water onto your houseplants.
By using these water saving tips, a household can save a great deal of water.
For example, a typical five-minute shower uses about 30 gallons. That same
shower, with a low-flow showerhead, uses only 15 gallons (50% water savings).
Many toilets use between five and seven gallons of water per flush, but an
ultra low-flush toilet uses only 1.6 gallons per flush (over 75% water savings).
When dishes are washed in the sink with the water running, it can use up to
30 gallons, but by filling the sink or dishpan and turning off the tap, it
uses only about five gallons (over 80% water savings). And, when brushing teeth
with the tap running, up to 10 gallons of water can be used, most of it wasted.
By wetting the brush and rinsing briefly, less than a gallon will be used (over
90% water savings). It’s easy to see how a little effort in daily water
use can reap significant water savings.
Hopefully, Redwood City residents will obtain the water conservation kits and
start saving water right away. For those that would prefer, Redwood City Public
Works staff are happy to come to a residence in person and conduct a free indoor
water use survey, and will bring along a water conservation kit at the same
time. Residents should call 780-7464 to set an appointment.
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