WH HAT CAN C YOU Y DO D TO O SAV VE W WATER R DURIING A DRO OUGH HT? Wa ater is a prrecious ressource. Alll living thi ngs depen nd on waterr to surrvive. Unfo ortunately y, few of uss think mu uch about tthe importtance of wa ater until itt is in limitted supply y. To help yyou appreciate just h how im mportant water is to all a of us, heere are a fe few interessting WATER W FA ACTS: Withou ut water theere could bee no life. Wee live on a " "water planeet". When viewed d from spacee, earth is bllue and whiite. The blue is the oceaans and the white is water vapor. The hu uman body is i about 75% % water. Tomatoes are 90% % water, pottatoes 80%,, and chickeens 75%. Less th han 2% of th he Earth's water w supplly is fresh w water. Nearly 50% of thee world's po opulation laccks access tto clean watter for sanitattion, drinkin ng and other needs. You ca an save 5 galllons of watter a day jusst by turnin ng off the faucet when you bru ush your teeeth. A leaky y faucet can n waste 100 gallons of w water a day.. One neewspaper a day means the use of 666,000 gallon ns of water a day. It takess 6 gallons of o water to produce p onee gallon of ggasoline. About 75% of you ur brain is water--use w itt wisely to leearn to mak ke water conserv vation an ev veryday hab bit!

Yo ou and you ur family can c save hu undreds off gallons oof water a w week by folllowing these simple DO's D and d DON'TS S of WATER CON NSERVA ATION: IN N THE BAT THROOM: (almost two o-thirds of h home water use is for tooilet flu ushing and bathing!) DO fill the bath tu ub only halfw way and savve 10-15 galllons. DO tak ke shorter sh howers and save 3-5 gaallons of watter a minutte. DON'T T use the toilet as a waste basket. T Throw trash h in a trash basket and avoid flushing g unnecessarily. DON'T T leave the water w runnin ng when yoou brush you ur teeth or w wash your ha ands or facee. Faucets use u about 2-33 gallons evvery minutee! IN N THE KITCHEN AND D LAUNDR RY: DO ma ake sure thee dishwasherr is full befoore turning it on. Dishw washers use bettween 8 and d 12 gallons of water peer load. DO ma ake sure you ur clothes washer w is fulll before turrning it on. E Each load of laun ndry usually y requires 50 0 gallons orr more of waater. DO usee a bowl of water w to clean fruits an nd vegetablees rather than runnin ng water oveer them. Reu use the wateer in the boowl to waterr your housep plants. DO store drinking g water in th he refrigeraator rather tthan letting the tap run eveery time you u want a coo ol glass of w water. DON'T T let the watter run when washing d dishes. IN N THE GAR RDEN: DO usee a self-closiing nozzle on your gard den hose. DO usee native plan nts in your garden g (plaants that norrmally grow w in the area yo ou live and do d not need d a lot of watter or care)) DON'T T water gard dens or lawn ns during th he heat of d day. Up to 900% of the water you y use is lo ost through evaporation n!

DON'T T use water to t clean off your sidew walks or drivveways--usee a broom and sw weep them in nstead. EMEMBER R... RE Never put p water down d a drain n that can b be used for ssomething eelse such as wateering a gard den or clean ning. hool to Educatte and encou urage your family, frieends, neighb bors, and sch practicce water con nservation Try to do one thin ng each day to conservee water. EVE ERY DROP P COUN NTS!

Irrigation Meter M Informa ation: Do you us se a lot of wate er for watering g your lawn orr filling your p pool? If so, yo ou may be able e to reduce yo our monthly wastewater w bill by getting a separate irrigation accountt-a water mete er exclusively for outdoor w water use. The T frequently asked question ns below will he elp you determ mine if an irrigattion meter m is a good d fit for you. For F more inform mation, please contact our Wa ater and Sewer Billing Departtment at a (864) 653-20 035.

Frequently F Asked A Questtions What’s W the adva antage in gettin ng a separate iirrigation accou unt? The T advantage is i this: You won n’t pay wastewatter charges on tthe water you y use outdoorrs. You will contiinue to pay wasstewater charge es for your residential accou unt that suppliess your home, bu ut those chargess will be based b on your in ndoor water usa age, which typica ally decreases w when you begin b using yourr irrigation mete er for outdoor wa atering. How H much does s it cost to insta all a residentia al irrigation metter? The T total cost to o install a ¾” d omestic irrigatiion meter is $2 200, (the customer c provid des everything past the mete er box.) Itt’s important to o note that hom meowner irrigatiion accounts re equire you y to install a backflow preve ention device o on underground d systems and a have it testted initially by a an approved te ester before beiing placed p into serv vice and then e every three yea ars after that. A certified c plumbe er or contractorr can install a b backflow preve enter for you. y The cost will w depend on tthe type of devvice required an nd the in nstallation labo or. Testing feess vary, so it’s a good idea to call around a for pricing to Certified Testers please e follow this link to the SC S Departmentt of Health and d Environmenta al Control webssite for a liist of certified testers: http://www.scdh h hec.gov/enviro nment/water/do ocs/bfgen.pdf How H do I apply for an irrigatio n meter? You Y can apply fo or an irrigation m meter by going b by the Utility Billing Department D and d filling out an ap pplication. How H long will it take to get an irrigation mete er installed? Itt typically takes three to fourr weeks from th he time you apply and pay p for an irriga ation account tto the time it is s installed.

Who can I contact for more information? Please contact our Utility Billing Department at (864) 653-2035 or Utilities Department (864) 653-2046. What is a backflow device? Backflow preventers protect the City of Clemson’s public water supply from potential contamination by blocking backflow.