Central Texas Drought

We here in Austin are in the midst of the drought gripping central Texas. You can read all about it at the Drought Monitor and at LCRA. Scary stuff.

What can we do to help? There are some small things that can make a big difference!

Some things are obvious. Stop watering the lawn: either completely or as little as possible. Now would be a good time to plant native, drought resistant plants and make some attractive, pebble paths that don’t require water at all.

One tiny thing that can save a huge amount of water is to check your faucets!

leaky faucet photo

Drip…drip…drip…

One faucet dripping at a rate of 10 drops per minute adds up to 3 liters lost in a day. 347 gallons a year. Do you have a leaky faucet? Count the drips per minute and see how much you’re losing here.

Some other, cool, easy ideas:

  • Our neighbor brings us his water from his fishtank to water our plants.
  • If you wash your produce, do so in a bucket and water your plants with that.
  • Put a bucket in the shower to catch water while you’re waiting for it to warm up. More plant water!
photo of seedum plant

Water me with gray water!

  • Turn off your water while brushing your teeth. You have no idea how many people I see leaving it on!
  • Sweep your driveway and sidewalks instead of hosing them off. You’ll save water and get some exercise.
  • Put a brick in the toilet tank if you don’t have a low-flow and you don’t want to toss a perfectly good toilet!

Do you have any ideas for us? Hit us up! Post on our Facebook page or here in the comments. Share your great water saving tips with everyone!