Surprising Facts About Water Waste

Water is one of America's most precious resources. It's an essential part of our environment and our daily lives. Yet, it's being wasted at the rate of hundreds of billions of gallons per year.

This, in turn, wastes another resource precious to you. Your money. Both the money you spend for water - and the water you spend to heat water.

A lot of dollars go down the drain. An average family that uses municipal water can save as much as $50 to $75 per year on water and sewer bills by switching to low-flow shower heads and low-flush toilets. Solution: Install a water-saving shower head and low flush toilet.

Wasted water increases energy costs. For $10 or so per shower installation, the average family can save 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of water each year, plus the energy it took to heat half that water, perhaps $20 to $50. Solution: Install water-saving shower heads.