Today is World Water Day. To celebrate, here’s a pop quiz: do you know how much water you use every day? It may be more than you think as the average American household uses 350 gallons per day. This is my shocked face :-O

As desert dwellers, we’re hyper-aware of our precious water. Plus saving water means saving money and who doesn’t like that? Here are twelve ways to conserve water, save some sheckels and earn a little smug self satisfaction for your eco-groovy self.

1. Fix that leak. A leaky faucet can drip away over seven gallons of water a day. Fixing the leak will save 5o bathtubs of water each year – that’s a boatload.

2. Turn water off while brushing your teeth. This is the easiest fix of all and can save up to eight gallons per day. What’s not to like?

3. Install low-flow showerheads and aerator faucets. Easy to install and many low-flow showerheads are under $10 at your neighborhood hardware store. This simple step can cut your water usage by as much as half.

4. Skip the bath, take a shower. Showers save water. A five minute shower (or long ten minute shower with a low-flow showerhead) uses about one-third of the water you’d need to fill the bathtub. A bathtub takes 60+ gallons of water and a shower only about 20. Do the math and you’ll find some serious savings.

5. Dishwasher vs. hand-washing dishes. It’s dishwasher for the win! If you fill up the dishwasher, it’s no contest that this saves money over hand-washing. And don’t bother rinsing off the dishes first, just scrape the plates and most dishwashers can handle the rest. This simple step alone can save you 20 gallons per load. And you avoid dishpan hands.

6. Washing machines like a full load. Washers are most efficient when you run a full load. One large load uses about 40 gallons and two medium loads use roughly 60 gallons. Ka-ching.

7. Use the broom. Instead of hosing off the driveway, sidewalk or patio, grab the broom instead. This saves 150 gallons or more each time.

8. Capture tap water. While you wait for hot water in the shower or at the sink, catch the flow in a watering can to use later on house plants or your garden. Saves over 200 gallons per month and your perky plants will thank you.

9. Harvest rainwater. Want free water? You got it! Just put the water running off your roof to good use. A simple way to harvest rainwater only requires a barrel at the end of a gutter downspout. The captured water can be saved to water the garden or wash the car.

10. Install gray water irrigation. This project may require a plumber, but it can save you a lot of the water by irrigating your yard with the not-really-dirty water from showers and washing machines. Think of it as free water the second time around.

11. Choose water-saving appliances. The Energy Star label will help you pick dishwashers and washing machines that use up to half the water of less efficient models. Less water, more savings. How zen.

12. Install a dual flush toilet. Even better than a low-flow toilet, it allows you to use just the right amount of water depending on what kind of waste you’re flushing.

What is your favorite water saving tip? Do you know how much water you use at home? Share with us in the comments.

Switching it up from the usual meeting place, Sustainable Tucson meets tonight at the Milagro Cohousing (map) tonight with a tour of the community at 5:15 pm and the meeting starts at 5:45 pm.

Learn what you can do to cut water waste and produce renewable water for yourself and your neighbors. This is part of  Sustainable Tucson’s efforts to create One Desert Community through direct actions.

“What do we need our water for?” is tonight’s theme. This is a big question for Tucson’s sustainable future. Thought leaders will consider what our priorities should be for our limited water supply. Panelists include:

Gary Nabhan (Institute for the Environment)

Dan Dorsey (Sonoran Permaculture Guild)

Kelly LaCroix (Water Resources Research Center)

Sandy Eldridge (Tucson Water)

Tres English (Empowering Local Communities)

Credit: City of Tucson

You pay for your water, why not use it twice? By using your home’s gray water – which can be diverted from your laundry room, bathroom sink and shower – you can reuse it for irrigating your landscape. Gray water is relatively clean and accounts for 50-80% of household water outside of toilet use.

Besides saving money on water use for irrigation, the benefits for the environment include: lower fresh water extraction from rivers and aquifers, less impact on water treatment plants and groundwater recharge.

The City of Tucson allows use of gray water without a special permit. Their web page on Using Gray Water has details and links for how to use household gray water for irrigation.

The State of Arizona offers a Gray Water Conservation Credit. The tax credit is for residences and is 25% of the cost of installing a water conservation system not to exceed $1000. Their are tax credit for commercial use as well.

And is it “gray” water or “grey” water? The City of Tucson and State of Arizona go with “gray.” It’s commonly used both ways but the spelling “grey” is considered a more British spelling of the word, as in Earl Grey tea.

In Tucson, the average person uses 100 gallons of water a day. In the desert, that sounds like a lot! Looking to help people reduce their consumption and sweeten the deal with incentives, the City of Tucson offers rebates for making your home or business more water efficient.

Tucson Water gives households up to $200 ($120 per toilet) for replacing toilets with high efficiency models. They will reimburse you up to $200 for installing a permanent gray water irrigation system at home. For application and more information click here.

Businesses are also offered rebates and incentives for high efficiency toilets and urinals as well as irrigation upgrades. For more information click here.