Sarah Holland
Northern News Services

NNSL (Oct 04/99) - Would you believe that a faucet leaking one drop per second can waste 720 litres of water per month?

To put that in perspective, line up 320 milk cartons and there's how much water can be wasted.

According to the Arctic Energy Alliance, it is possible to save water and thus lower your bill.

That would be by using an aerator and/or water flow reducer in your sink faucets to reduce consumption, and always fix any leaky faucets as soon as possible. In the bathroom, use a low flow showerhead, which is easy to install and saves a good chunk of water.

Put a weight in your toilet tank so it uses less water, one suggestion is a two-litre pop bottle filled with water, or you can buy an insert from a hardware store. Don't use your toilet as a garbage for tissues and things, just think of how much water is used if you flush unnecessarily.

One way to check if your toilet has leaks is to put some food colouring in the tank and see if any leaks through to the bowl. If it does, get out the phone book and call a repairman.

Do not continually run the water when you're doing dishes, washing food, shaving or brushing your teeth.

It's simply money going down the drain if you do.

One tip for your kitchen is to have a bottle of water ready in the fridge for drinking instead of running water and waiting for it to get cold. Again, wasted water down the drain.

In the laundry room, always wash full loads when possible, but if you're not, make sure you set the load size properly.

One of the most simple techniques to save water is to turn off the taps tightly. Sounds simple, right? Well, many a tap has dripped for hours or days because it goes unchecked. Looking at the statistic mentioned before, being aware of how your faucets, and other uses of water, are performing can really save water and money.

And who doesn't want that?