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FYI
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By 2040 the total amount of water saved by using new, water-efficient toilets could
reach 800 million gallons per day, enough to fill the Astrodome once ever thirteen hours.*
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I n the typical home, about 50 percent of all water is used in
the bathroom for the shower, toilet, and sink. In school sand public buildings, toilet flushing is the predominant water use.*
In 1991 the Texas legislature passed a law requiring that, beginning in 1992, all new fixtures sold must include water conserving plumbing devices such as 1.6-gallons-per-flush
toilets and 2.75 gallons-per-minute shower heads.*
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TYPICAL HOME WATER USE
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Source: Texas Water Developmwnt Board, A Homeowners Guide to Water
Use and Water Conservation (1990)
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A significant portion of municipal water use is lost in transmission and distribution. A recent study by the
TWDB found that Texas water utilities cannot account for 10 to 20 percent of the water they treat and distribute.* Most of this loss is due to leaky distribution
systems. About a quarter of all municipal water used is for the maintenance of lawns and gardens during the spring and summer.*
The Texas Water Development Board estimates that if all homes and public buildings used these new,
water-efficient toilets, which use 1.6 gallons of water per flush instead of the more conventional 3.5 to 8 gallons, Texas would save about 200 million gallons of
water each day. This translates into 459,000 acre-feet per year by 2010.* This could reduce the need to build
additional water and wastewater treatment plants by 15 percent, saving some $3.5 billion dollars over the next 50 years.* The TWDB also estimates that the
average family of four could save $627 annually by installing water-efficient toilet, shower and sink fixtures.*
In addition to installing water-saving plumbing fixtures and low water-use appliances, some home owners
have increased their water supplies by building rainwater catchment or "harvesting" systems. These systems place
catchment systems on roofs or below roofs to capture rain and augment water supplies for garden and lawn use. For
more information about Rainwater Catchment Systems, consult the Texas Guide to Rainwater Harvesting, published by the Texas Water Development Board.*
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