Conservation and water reuse are critical ways North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) manages a finite supply of water.

What Is Water Conservation?

Water is an essential part of our everyday life. Yet for most of us, we probably do not think about water very often. We have come to expect that water will be there when we turn on our faucet. In reality, every drop has been on a journey through hundreds of miles of pipes, treatment plants, and delivered 24/7 by your neighbors here at the North Texas Municipal Water District.

Water conservation is the practice of using water efficiently to reduce waste. Water conservation and the efficient use of today’s supply is more important now than ever. With the NTMWD’s service area population doubling over the next 50 years, a quarter of our water supply will be what we can use wisely today. Conservation not only helps extend water supplies during frequent Texas droughts, but it is also critical to meet future water demands.

With just a few simple changes, you can actually make a big impact to reduce your water footprint, and we are here to help!

Tips To Conserve Water and use water efficiently

Water is used for a variety of uses such as irrigating our lawns and landscapes, flushing of toilets, washing clothes and dishes, taking showers and cooking to name a few. Water conservation and efficiency is simple to implement, and together we can make a difference.

Counting on water conservation as the source for nearly one-quarter of our future water supplies, simple, easy to implement water use changes can extend our most precious resource.

These water-saving tips will put you on the path to conserving water in and around your home.

How To Save Water Outdoors

  1. Sign up at WaterMyYard.org for recommendations on when and how much to water your lawn.
  2. Water before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. to minimize evaporation.
  3. Run your sprinklers in short cycles and wait 30-45 minutes in between to allow your grass to absorb water and reduce runoff. Learn how to Cycle, Soak, and Save!
  4. Regularly check the irrigation heads on your sprinkler system to ensure they are watering your lawn, not your driveway, sidewalk or street.
  5. Raise the mower blade height during summer and avoid cutting more than 1/3 of the leaf blade at one time to conserve water and reduce plant stress.
  6. Check outside spigots, pipes and hoses for leaks, and repair or replace as needed. One drop per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year!
  7. Plant native and adapted plants to reduce the amount of water your landscape requires. Browse your options.

How To Save Water Indoors

  1. Install low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets throughout your house.
  2. Wash dishes in the dishwasher rather than by hand. Pro Tip: Don’t waste water by pre-rinsing dishes, and make sure to only run the dishwasher when it’s full.
  3. Invest in an energy-efficient clothes washing machine, adjust the water level to your load size, and run only with a full load.
  4. Install a shower timer, shorten the length of your shower, and turn off water while your wash your hair and body, then turn water back on to rinse off.
  5. Turn off the water while you shave, and rinse your razor in a plugged sink rather than under a running faucet.
  6. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth and washing your face or hands.

More Resources & Tips On Saving Water
Check out these up-to-date and helpful resources on water conservation tips:

Meeting Regional Water Supply Needs

Since water projects require significant investment to build and take many years to gain approvals and construct, conservation helps stretch existing supplies for the communities that we serve. When you use water wisely, it allows us to delay costly water projects needed to meet regional water demands. And, it can help you manage your monthly water bill. When we all use water wisely and efficiently, we all win.

Our water conservation and water resource/emergency management plan outlines strategies we use to conserve and protect our water supply. Please check with your city water department or water supplier for any additional guidelines in place for your community. View current plans (2024) below:

What is Water Resource Recovery & Reuse?

The East Fork Water Reuse Project is the largest man-made wetland in the U.S. and helps extend our existing water supplies. The 1,840-acre wetland essentially acts as a large-scale recycling project, diverting treated wastewater (effluent) flows from the East Fork of the Trinity River and filtering it naturally before it is returned to 42 miles North to Lavon Lake for future treatment and use.

Wastewater reuse is an important component of our long-range water conservation plan. NTMWD operates the largest indirect wastewater effluent recovery program in Texas, diverting and retreating more than 14 billion gallons annually.

Like most wastewater service providers, we treat wastewater to meet or exceed quality standards and return it to rivers, streams and other waterways. The treated wastewater return flows, or effluent, blend with other supplies which can all be used again by other communities downstream. This is a way of indirectly reusing the water. Each day, we pump more than 40 million gallons of treated effluent from the Wilson Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant to Lavon Lake, providing us with additional water supply for our growing region.