Over the last century, the population on earth has tripled, and our water consumption has even grown at twice that speed. The rising demand for good clean drinking water and the general trend toward urbanization has stressed our  groundwater supplies to the absolute breaking point, and water has now become one of the most precious resources on our planet.

This gives us all the more reason to use the available water supply wisely and to save as much water as we possibly can. Below you will find some easy water conservation methods that can help you to save over 1,000 gallons of water per year.

Global drought conditions

Worldwide the shortage of water is being felt, from the Southeastern United States to East Africa or Australia they have all experienced unprecedented drought conditions over the last few years.

Whether it is because of global warming or just a run of bad luck, the water shortage is becoming an increasingly familiar phenomena around these parts of the world.

The good news is that most people have become so wasteful with their everyday water usage,  that simply applying some very basic water conservation methods can make a huge difference.

We've rounded up five easy and inexpensive ways to save water. Each method of water conservation should save you at least 1,000 gallons of water per year on your utility bill.

Easy ways to save gallons of water per year:

• Save water while taking a shower.
• Find and repair silent toilet leaks.
• Water lawns on demand, not on schedule.
• Save water while you brush your teeth.
• Save water while washing the dishes.

1. Save water while taking a shower

Reduce the time you spend inside the shower one or more minutes. Your average shower head has a flow rate of five to eight gallons per minute. A water-saving shower head uses about 2.5 gallons per minute. If you take a shower every day, you will save 1,000 gallons a year just by cutting the time you run the water by just 1 minute.

2. Find and repair silent toilet leaks

Find and repair silent toilet leaks. Worn out plumbing can quietly leak away a lot of gallons per day. To find the leak, put some dark food coloring into your toilets tank. If you notice any color inside the toiletbowl within 10 to 15 minutes, then you've got a leak worth fixing.

3. Water lawns on demand, not on schedule

Watering your garden and lawns by demand, and not on a time schedule will easily save gallons of water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that almost 30% of all household water consumption is used for outdoor watering. Of all this clean water, up to 50% is simply wasted due to evaporation, wind and broken irrigation systems.

4. Save water while you brush your teeth

Turn off your faucet when you’re brushing your teeth. It's an easy thing to do and it's surprisingly wasteful to leave the tap running. Running the faucet while you’re scrubbing your teeth sends about five to eight gallons of perfectly useful water straight down the drain. Triple that amount of water if you brush your teeth three times a day, and we're talking several thousand gallons of water a year.

5. Save water while washing the dishes

Be smart when you’re doing the dishes. If you're doing dishes by hand, don't rinse them underneath a running faucet. Get yourself an in-sink rack, load your soapy dishes, and rinse by pouring hot water over the top or using a handheld spray nozzle. If you have two sinks, fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.

External References

• 5 cheap ways to save 1,000 gallons of water (CNN.com)
• 100 Ways to Conserve Water (wateruseitwisely.com)
• 25 ways to conserve water in the home and yard (eartheasy.com)