Water Conservation

CWLP strives to help customers get the greatest value for every dollar they spend on water service. Toward this end, the utility works to educate customers on the value of water efficiency and sponsors programs aimed at helping them improve their own water efficiency without requiring them to sacrifice comfort and convenience.

Key among these programs are a water-saver kit giveaway, a potential-leak detection audit, a lawn-watering educational program, a water- and energy-saving program for facilities with commercial kitchens, rebates, and pamphlets that can help you save water indoors and outdoors. These water conservation programs are administered by CWLP's Energy Services Office (ESO).

CWLP is now a partner in the USEPA's WaterSense program, which is designed to promote water-efficient products and practices across the country. Find out more about this partnership and how it can benefit you by clicking below.
USEPA WaterSense Program

Water Saving Tips Read More

Whether drought conditions necessitate water conservation measures or you're just a wise consumer who wants to save money and a precious natural resource, there are a number of steps you can take to reduce your home's or business' water consumption throughout the year.

Reducing Indoor Water Use

Check for leaking faucets and fix them immediately. Even a slowly dripping faucet (one drop every 15 seconds) can waste close to 150 gallons of water a year.
Equip your faucets with aerators that reduce water use without creating a noticeable difference in flow. The CWLP Energy Services Office offers free low-flow faucet aerators (and other water-saving devices) to CWLP customers.
Replace Your Aerator
Check for toilet leaks and fix them immediately. A bad toilet leak can easily waste well over 1,000 gallons a day. Some leaks are obvious—you can see or hear them—but others can easily go unnoticed (except on your water bill). One of the most common types of "silent" toilet leaks occurs when water from the tank continues to quietly seep into the bowl even after a flush is complete. To check for this type of leak, put a few drops of food coloring into the tank. If the coloring shows up in the bowl without the toilet being flushed, you know you have a leak. Sometimes a simple adjustment to the ball and cock inside the toilet tank can fix this type of leak.
If you need new faucets or a new toilet, install models that carry the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) WaterSense label. These fixtures are designed to use 20 percent less water, while performing as well as or better than standard models.
Take showers instead of baths and limit your showers to 5 minutes or less. If you must take a bath, fill the tub only half instead of all the way full.
Equip your showers with low-flow showerheads. And even better, make sure the new showerheads have flow restrictor knobs that allow you to easily cut off the water flow while you lather up.
Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth, turning it on only to wet your toothbrush and to rinse.
For the most part, using a dishwasher requires less water than washing the same number of dishes by hand. But unless your dishwasher has a feature that lets it be adjusted for load size, wait until you have a full load to run it.
When using your clothes washer, make sure you adjust the water level to fit the load.
Try to think of creative ways to re-use water. For instance, when you shower, place a bucket in the shower with you to catch run-off water. This, as well as used bath, dish, and house-cleaning water can be used to water indoor and outdoor plants.

Reducing Outdoor Water Use

When watering your lawn or garden, make sure the water goes where it is needed, not onto the sidewalks, driveway or street.
Using drip irrigation hoses, rather than sprinklers, can be a much more efficient way to water shrubs, flowers, trees and other landscaping. It directs the water right toward the plant roots.
If you have an in-ground irrigation system check out our Smart Irrigation Page
Install one or more rain barrels to capture rain water runoff from your roof. Even a relatively small rain event can result in the capture of a significant amount of water that can be used to water outdoor plants or even wash a car.
Don't over-water your lawn. A healthy lawn needs only about one inch of water per week. Use a rain gauge to measure the amount of water added to your lawn. If you do not have a rain gauge contact CWLP Energy Services Office to receive a complimentary rain gauge. The Irrigation Association finds that many property owners over-water their lawns and landscapes by as much as 30 percent. (And if your grass isn't getting enough water to keep it nice and green, don't panic. Most lawns will go dormant during extended dry periods, but will tend to come back once normal rainfalls return.)
When you do water, do so in the early morning when temperatures are at their lowest and there will be less chance of evaporation.
Add several inches of mulch around landscape plants to help the ground around their roots retain moisture.
When mowing, set your mower blade to a height of at least 3 inches. The taller the grass, the better the roots will be shaded and the longer the soil will hold moisture.
If you're ready for a new landscaping project, replace grass with native plants, groundcover or hardscaping that will require less watering.
When washing your car at home, use a hose attachment that will allow you to shut off water flow except when you need it for wetting and rinsing the car. If you can, park the car on your lawn while washing, so the water you use can also water your grass. Better yet . . . wash your car at a car wash. Most modern car washes utilize water recycling systems that significantly reduce waste.
When conditions call for even greater reductions in water use, ornamental fountains should be turned off and new plant or tree installations should be postponed.

Water-Saver Kits Read More

CWLP's Water Saver Kit—or any of its individual components—is available free of charge to CWLP residential retail water customers. The kit components are intended for use on older (more than 10 years old) faucets and showers that are not already equipped with water-saving devices and in older-style toilets that are not already classified as "low-flush". To obtain your Water Saver Kit, visit the CWLP Energy Services Office, 1008 E. Miller Street (just north of downtown Springfield, between N. 9th and N. 11th Streets).

The components contained in the CWLP Water-Saver Kit are:

Low-flow Showerhead
Saves about 1.0 gallons per minute (gpm) compared to a standard showerhead. Aeration maintains the "feel" of a full-flow showerhead.
Low-flow Kitchen Aerator
Saves about 0.7 gpm compared to a standard aerator.
Low-flow Bathroom Aerator
Saves about 1.7 gpm compared to a standard aerator.
Toilet Dam
Saves about 1.0 gallon per flush.
Toilet Bowl Fill Diverter
Keeps more water in the bowl during refill, saving about 0.5 gallon per flush.
Dye Tablets
Help customers identify some types of toilet tank leaks. These leak detection tablets are intended for use by all CWLP water customers, regardless of the age of their toilets.

In addition to these devices, CWLP also offers:

Lather Valve
For customers with newer showerheads. Valve allows user to interrupt flow of water while lathering, without requiring water temperature to be reset. Can reduce shower-related water use by 30% or more. Installs between the showerhead and shower arm.
Flip Valve, Swivel Kitchen Aerator
For customers who do most of their dishwashing by hand. Flip-up valve makes it easy for user to cut off water flow—without affecting water temperature—while washing dishes and to turn the water back on for rinsing. In a test by ESO, use of this device resulted in a 2.5 gallon water savings compared to the amount used to wash the same dishes while water flowed freely.

Rebates

To encourage and assist CWLP customers in reducing their usage while maintaining comfort, CWLP has offered a variety water conservation-related of efficiency rebates.
All Rebates