(WICHITA, Kan.)—
With the lingering drought, Wichita city leaders plan to discuss water restrictions next month. It's a step many other communities had to take last summer to deal with the continuing dry weather.Whether or not there are restrictions where you live, you can do things now to stop wasting water. The most important change involves your toilet. "If it's leaking, a leaking flapper can leak 10 gallons a day from your home. So change that out, it might be $5 or $7 to change out," said Director of K-State's Prevention Pollution Institute Nancy Larson.
You can also make your showers cost less by changing to a low-flow shower head. They use about two and a half gallons of water a minute. Larson says another big water waster are leaking faucets. She says it's important to get those fixed.
And Larson says if you're shopping for a new washing machine, consider one that loads from the front. She says they use about half as much water as traditional top-loading washers.
