Conserve Water at Home

Spike in Community Water Use

CTC reports a significant increase in our water consumption in the last month, up 23%.  Additionally, with the start of summer and people are using hoses, filling kiddie pools and having fun outside, this could increase even more; thus, your help is needed to help manage low utilities to avoid rent increases in the future.* 

*Numerous utilities - including water - are provided in residents' flat monthly rental rates. While the co-op covers these bills, there is still the personal incentive for residents to conserve water (and electricity) to maintain low operational costs for the co-op, and - in turn - low rental rates for residents.

Our maintenance team has checked all waterspouts and other areas of possible leakage to confirm there is not wasted water from these areas. The Management Team has integrated low flow shower heads and a other cost saving techniques for plumbing and continues to monitor best practices.

We Need Your Help!

• Report leaks. If you have any leaks, create a maintenance request for CTC Maintenance to fix any sinks, tubs or toilets
• Report running toilets: If your toilet keeps running on and off by itself or runs as if it was recently flushed, trickling water into the bowl, please place a maintenance request. If left unchecked, this problem can waste hundreds of gallons of water and quite a bit of money.
• Turn off hoses. Turn the water supply off when it is not being used. Tightly turn to the right to ensure it is fully off without any leaks.
• Turn off faucets. Never let faucet water run needlessly as you wash or rinse dishes, wash your hands or face, brush your teeth or shave. Bathroom faucets run at about 2 gallons of water a minute, according to the EPA. Turn the water off between rinses.
• Use every drop. Learn to repurpose water. One easy way is to capture under your colander the potable water you use to rinse fruits and veggies, and deposit it in the garden. Do the same while you wait for your hot water to come in.
• Capture rainwater. Find ways to save and store rainwater for use in the garden. CTC has rain barrels on property near gardens, which catches roof water from gutters and downspouts, is one easy way.
• More tips: "How to Conserve Water at Home" (Published by MPR on July 22, 2021)

Wasted Water = Wasted Money

• A leaking toilet can waste up to 5 gallons of water a minute.
• 4000 drips equals one liter of water wasted
• 15,140 drips equals one gallon of water wasted
• Find more helpful hints on how to start saving through the United Sates Environmental Protection Agency