I am organizing a World Water Day event at my son's high school.  We are setting a goal of cutting daily water use per person in half over the next year. Some of the responsibility belongs to each person and some to the institution. There are 130 students and about half board. What might be the most cost effective ways to do this?  Composting toilets are out of the question. We want the students and staff to take these lessons home so that they can begin to do the same at home.

We also want school administrators to learn the costs of not conserving water, where most of it is being used, where the biggests possible reductions can be found and some idea of the cost of refitting the plumbing, the savings that would come with it and  how long for a payback. Thank you.

* low-flow shower heads; short showers instead of baths (about $5)

* faucet aerators (about $1 or $2 each) to restrict water flow on sinks.

* run your dishwasher full (and/or replace with a water-conserving model) and without rinsing dirty dishes (scrape them off into the compost or trash).

* run only full loads in your clotheswasher (and/or replace with a water-conserving model)

* don't water your lawn for a while, or minimally water it, or install drip irrigation.

* cache rainwater to water your yard or use greywater to water your yard.

* drip irrigate your garden instead of using a hose or sprinker.

* low-flow toilets (new models use 1.6 gallons per flush).

Edited by: chinchillables on Jun 4, 2008 11:00:02 AM