January 16, 2019 – Entering 2019, Nevada Irrigation District (NID) customers can feel good about their voluntary efforts to reduce water usage. Overall, customers used 12 percent less treated water in 2018 than in 2013, which is the first year of the worst drought in modern times and serves as a benchmark for water conservation measurements.
This is an indication customers are embracing the concept that water conservation should be a way of life throughout the year, whether during the wet, cold winter or dry, scorching summer.
“Our new norm of water usage is well below that of the recent drought years,” said Chip Close, NID operations manager. “Thank you to NID customers who have voluntarily incorporated water conservation into their lifestyles. It is important to be responsible stewards of our water resources, and conservation is a crucial way to stretch our limited supply and be responsive to the effects of climate change and future drought.”
Now that winter is upon us, wetter weather means gardens and landscape do not need irrigation, and outdoor water use is reduced. There still are opportunities to conserve water.
Here are some easy water conservation actions:
• Use an online water usage calculator to see how much water your family really uses. Visit the NID website here to crunch the numbers
• Install low-flow shower heads and shorten your shower. Showering accounts for nearly 17 percent of residential indoor water use – up to 40 gallons per day for an average family
• Improve the efficiency of your toilet with an old trick. Place a brick in the toilet tank. The brick displaces about half a gallon of water, which reduces the amount needed per flush. Plus, there’s minimal – if any – effect on the power of the flush.
Find more water efficiency tips at the District’s conservation webpage here.