Water Conservation & Preservation

• Use low-flow faucets, shower heads, and toilets. Find water-efficient products here. Improvements or additions that require building permits must, according to code, use updated water efficient fixtures and fittings;
• Fix leaky faucets and spigots. One drip per second wastes 1,661 gallons a year.
• Choose a high-efficiency washing machine, it can save over 50% in laundry water and energy use.
• Use your dishwasher and washing machines only with full loads.
• Sweep driveways, sidewalks, and steps rather than hosing them off.
• Water your lawn according to City Code, between the hours of 7pm and 9am. Only water your lawn when needed. Check the weather before watering your lawn or garden to avoid unnecessary water usage. 
• Install a weather sensor on your sprinkler system. Better yet skip the sprinkler system and utilize what nature already provides by harvesting rain water in a rain barrel.
• Stop using synthetic pesticides and high-nitrogen fertilizers on your lawn. These chemicals eventually travel to local water bodies where they harm wildlife and contaminate our drinking water.
• Choose native and drought-resistant plants. Native plants are best adapted to local conditions and require minimal or zero water, maintenance, and fertilizer.
• Mulch your landscape. A 3" layer prevents evaporation and frequent need to water as well as holding down weeds and improving soil health.
• Do not flush medications or hazardous chemicals down the drain. These products end up in our waterways – they harm wildlife and contaminate drinking water.
• Utilize Green Infrastructure techniques alleviate flooding, beautify your property, and reduce the amount of chemicals that are carried away to local water bodies.
• Take a glass or plastic bottle with plastic cap and fill it with sand, close it tightly, and put into your toilet tank. This will cause your toilet to refill with less water each time without affecting its functionality.
• Eat less meat. The water required to produce one quarter-pound hamburger is equivalent to taking 30 showers.
• Choose eco-friendly clothing fabrics such as hemp, bamboo, or tencel, and avoid plastic fabrics such as polyester, lycra, acrylic, spandex, and nylon. Did you know that a single fleece garment can shed 250,000 plastic microfibers in one washing? These plastic fibers bypass water treatment plants and end up in our waterways.
• Businesses, according to code, should supply patrons with drinking water only upon request.

 

 

Other Resources:

Build Your Own Rain Barrel!

• Quick Guide: How to Build a Rain Barrel - Youtube Video 3:54 minutes

• Extensive Guide: How to Build a Rain Barrel - by Cornell Cooperative Extension

Landscape Your Home to Improve Water Quality – Surfrider Foundation

Use eco-friendly fertilizers and pest management - Peconic Estuary Program

Xeriscape Your Home - Water Authority Great Neck North

Clean Boating Tips - BoatUS Foundation

What is an Aquifer? - Peconic Esturary Program

Threats to our Ocean, Bay, and Drinking water:

• Nitrogen Pollution - The Nature Conservancy

• 1,4-Dioxane - Citizens Campaign for the Environment

• Pharmaceutical Disposal - Citizens Campaign for the Environment

• Saltwater Intrusion

Water Protection Resources - Citizen's Campaign for the Environment 

Surfrider Foundation - Central LI Chapter 

Long Island Shellfish Restoration Project 

www.LIWater.org 

www.WaterForLongIsland.org

www.SaveTheGreatSouthBay.org