Top Ten Lists

Ideas for Conserving Water Indoors

  • When upgrading appliances, consider air-cooled air conditioners, refrigerators, etc. for significant water savings.
  • A quick shower trick: place an ice-cream bucket in the shower and turn it on. If the bucket is filled in 20 seconds or less, then you should consider a water-efficient shower head.
  • Upgrade older toilets with low-flush (low-flow) models. If your toilet is older than 1995, you can retrofit it with a tank-based displacement device.
  • Direct water from rain gutters and HVAC systems toward water-loving plants in the landscape for automatic water savings.
  • Compare resource savings among washing machines and dishwashers. Selecting the best model that includes load/water settings and only running them when full will help reduce water use.
  • Obtain free dye strips from the City of Ramsey. Put them in your toilet to check for leaks into the toilet bowl. While you're at it, fix that leaky faucet. All those drips add up. Call Public Works at 763-433-9820 or stop in to City Hall to pick some up.
  • Insulate hot water pipes for more immediate hot water at the faucet and for energy savings.
  • Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving.
  • Toss those used tissues rather than flushing them. Frequent flushers can kick this habit and save up to 600 gallons of water a month.
  • Water plants or shrubs with: old pet water when refilling Fido's dish, nutrient-rich aquarium waste water when it's cleaning time, and ice cubes you may have dropped on the floor by accident.

Ideas for Conserving Water Outdoors

  • Garden Hose Nozzles - Direct water onto plants and shrubs that need more water. When you wash your car, use a hose nozzle to turn off the water to save more than 100 each washing.
  • Brooms - Use a broom rather than a hose to clean your driveway or sidewalk between rain showers. Just sweep the dirt and spread over your lawn or toss in the trash. Doing this will not only conserve water but will also keep the dirt from entering storm sewers and catch basins.
  • Sprinkler Timers - A sprinkler timer can be set to shut off your sprinkler after a set amount of time.
  • Screwdriver - Use a long screwdriver as a soil probe to test soil moisture. if you can push into your lawn easily for several inches, then don't water. Proper lawn watering can save thousands of gallons of water annually.
  • Rain Gauge - Let Mother Nature do the watering for you. If you receive an inch or more of rain per week, you can skip your next watering.
  • Shut-Off Device - Nothing wastes water like sprinklers in the rain. Install a rain shut-off device on your automatic sprinklers to eliminate unnecessary watering.
  • Soil Aerator - This inexpensive tool will punch holes in your lawn about six inches apart to improve infiltration so that water seeps into the ground around the root zone rather than producing runoff.
  • Rain Barrels - Put the water from your downspout to good use by catching it in a mosquito-proof rain barrel. Plants love rainwater because it doesn't contain chlorine and is warmer than tap water.
  • Gutter Diverters - Used in conjunction with a rain barrel, gutter diverters have a switch that diverts the water to the landscape or rain barrel(s).
  • Rain Chains - Rain chains are designed to replace a downspout, and channel the water to a specific location, such as a basin or rain barrel. They're pleasing to look at and they slow water down, reducing splashing and erosion.
  • Hose Bibs - These are the faucets on the outside of your home when you connect your garden hoses. Check outdoor faucets, pipes, and hoses for leaks.
  • Hose Washers - Simply replacing a hose washer can often fix a leaking garden hose connection.