The James River Steward’s Almanac

Home Habits

Clean water is scarcer than ever before; let’s do our part to conserve it.

Be a Friend of the River…change your daily water use habits.

Treating water and sewage represents an enormous use of energy and money. American public water supply and treatment facilities consume about 56 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year—enough electricity to power more than 5 million homes for an entire year. In fact, 4 percent of the nation’s electricity consumption is used moving or treating water and wastewater.  Letting your faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours. Producing all this electricity means more air pollution going out the smokestacks, which in turn can become water pollution due to deposition.  Every day presents opportunities to reduce the amount of water we use and the amount of pollution we create.

Learn More:

1. What are the environmental benefits of water conservation? >>
2. WaterSense Program Daily Routine Tips >>
3. Water Conservation in the Home >>

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Be a Guardian of the River… transform your home into a model of water efficiency.

Demand for clean water is increasing, but the supply of clean water is decreasing. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon summed up the situation at the World Economic Forum, declaring: “There is still enough water for all of us but only so long as we can keep it clean, use it more wisely, and share it fairly." Clean water is needed not only for the municipal water supply, but also in agriculture, energy production, and industry. The James River serves not only as a source of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of humans, but also supplies power plants, factories, and farms with the water they need to function.

The environmental and financial costs of wasting water couldn’t be clearer to us. It’s time to take care of our future by eliminating water waste in our homes.  In turn we can inspire our friends and families to become stewards of our water resources. Using the links below, we can take important conservation actions in our homes.

Follow these links to learn how:

1. Water Conservation Virtual House Tour >>
2. EPA’s Guide to Fixing Leaks >>
3. Finding Water-Efficient Appliances >>
4. Creating a Water-Wise Landscape >>

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