May Is Water Awareness Month

May is Water Awareness Month, and it's the perfect time for us to think about wise water use. The drought may be over, but we still face long-term water supply challenges. Conservation is essential to ensuring an adequate supply for the state's growing population.

"Livermore residents have done a great job conserving water over the past few years, but we must continue to work together to comply with the state law that requires a 20 percent reduction in per-capita water use by 2020," said John Freeman, manager of California Water Service Company's (Cal Water) Livermore district. 

Most people already know methods for saving water: taking shorter showers, fixing household leaks, running only full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher.

Other Ways You Can Save Water

This Water Awareness Month, Cal Water encourages residents to consider other easy ways to save:

• Put your food waste into a compost pile or trash can instead of the garbage disposal, which requires flowing water.
• If you normally shower twice — once in the morning and once after your evening workout — rearrange your schedule to exercise in the morning so you'll only need one shower.
• When you're making coffee, tea or other water-based beverages, make only as much as you can drink. This saves the amount of water left in the pot and the water that is used to produce the coffee and tea in the first place.
• If you have a pool, keep it covered when not in use to prevent evaporation.
• If you like to take baths, plug the tub before you start the water. Even if the water takes time to heat up, you can adjust the temperature it runs.
• Never let water run right from the faucet to the drain. If you can't simply turn it off, capture the water for use somewhere else.
• Use a commercial car wash instead of washing the car yourself. Modern car washes are generally very water-efficient.
• Water your lawn before dawn or after dusk to reduce evaporation, and only water when necessary. A good way to check is to step on your lawn. If the grass springs back up, it doesn't need water.
• Use native plants in your garden. They tend to require significantly less water.

To help you save more water, Cal Water offers customers toilet and clothes washer rebates and free high-efficiency plumbing retrofit devices (such as bathroom and kitchen sink aerators, showerheads, and garden hose nozzles).

Free Residential Survey Program

Customers also can take advantage of Cal Water's residential survey program. If you sign up for a residential survey, a water conservation specialist from WaterWise will come to your home to evaluate your indoor and outdoor water use, show you how to read your meter, check your toilet(s) for leaks, recommend optimum irrigation for your landscaping, and provide other information and water-saving advice.

There is nothing to buy, the service is free and you are not obligated to make any of the recommended changes.

For more information about any of these programs and to learn about the commercial rebates available to Cal Water's business customers, visit www.calwater.com.

About Cal Water

Cal Water serves about 54,240 people through 18,200 service connections in Livermore. The company has been a part of the community since 1927.