5 Tips to Save Money on Your Water Bill

Ferndale is in the process examining how its water fees compare to those of nearby communities and plans to present its findings to the City Council this fall in response to residents' concerns.

1. On average, 10 gallons per day of your water footprint (or 14 percent of your indoor use) is lost to leaks. Short of installing new water-efficient fixtures, one of the easiest, most effective ways to cut your footprint is by repairing leaky faucets and toilets.
2. If you use a low-flow shower head, you can save 15 gallons of water during a 10-minute shower.
3. It takes about 70 gallons of water to fill a bathtub, so showers are generally the more water-efficient way to bathe.
   
4. All of those flushes can add up to nearly 20 gallons a day down the toilet. If you still have a standard toilet, which uses close to 3.5 gallons a flush, you can save by retrofitting or filling your tank with something that will displace some of that water, such as a brick.
5. Nearly 22 percent of indoor home water use comes from doing laundry. Save water by making sure to adjust the settings on your machine to the proper load size.