Q: I just heard a radio program about future energy problems, and one of the speakers said she thought water shortages would be more a problem in the coming years than energy shortages. If this happens, what can we do now to prevent this?

A: I tend to agree with what you heard, especially since some parts of the world are experiencing this situation already. And many homeowners right here in the United States are paying water bills that are pretty close to or sometimes even higher than their energy ones.

The good news is that there are a number of things homeowners can do today to make dramatic cuts in their water usage and costs. Making water-efficient improvements can lower your water usage by 50 percent or even more. By reducing hot water usage, you’ll further save on the costs of heating water you won’t need. And putting water-efficient appliances and products into a new home during construction might let your builder downsize the plumbing system, resulting in enough water savings to pay for the cost of the efficient fixtures.

Plumbing fixtures sold in the United States today have to meet standards set in the early 1990s that require showerheads and faucets to have maximum flow rates of 2 1/2 gallons per minute and toilets to have a maximum of 1.6 gallons of water per flush. If you have an older home and haven’t upgraded these fixtures, you know the place to start making improvements. Note that there are many good products on the market today that use even less water than these maximum standards require, saving even more.

Major home water users such as dishwashers and clothes washers are required to meet federal energy standards, and newer models of these appliances are considerably more water-efficient than older ones. When it’s time to replace your home’s water-using appliances, you’ll find that current models save a great deal of water over what you were using before.

An easy way to get started saving water is to install low-flow showerheads and faucets. Even cheap water flow restrictors can dramatically cut down on water use while still giving a strong stream of water for your shower or other uses. Finally, if you notice any water leaks in the faucets or toilet, get them fixed now, even if they are very slow leaks. You’re wasting a huge amount of water and adding to your water bills by letting even tiny drips go unfixed.

If you want to find out how much water you’re using in your home now, check out a Water Use Calculator I found on the Internet at www.waterbudgets.com/

ConserVision/CUWCC/

Datainput.htm.

Entering information on the water-using fixtures in your home, along with how much you spent on water bills during the past year, will point out how much you can save. It’s a great tool for driving home the point on how much water people use and how much of that is really being wasted.

Ken Sheinkopf is a communications specialist with the American Solar Energy Society.