It is essential that everyone institute prudent use of water at home. Here are some ways to do that.

1. Make sure to run dishwashers and washing machines only when they are filled to capacity.
2. Don’t let water run unnecessarily. Turn it off when shaving and brushing teeth or when working at the kitchen sink. Take showers, not baths, and then only short ones, turning the water off while soap and shampoo go on. Keep a container of water in the refrigerator in order to have cold drinking water on hand.
3. Check every faucet in your home for leaks. Stopping even a slow drip can save up to 6,000 gallons per year.
4. Check toilets for leaks. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and watch for a few minutes to see if the color shows up in the bowl. It’s not uncommon to lose up to 100 gallons a day from such "invisible" toilet leaks.
5. Use water meters to detect hidden leaks. Simply turn off all taps and water-using appliances, and then check the meter after 15 minutes. If it moved, there is a leak somewhere in the system.
6. In addition to following restrictions on watering lawns, trees and bushes (only in the early morning and in the evening in order to reduce water loss by evaporation), placing mulch (available from New Castle’s Recycling Center) around trees and plants also can reduce water loss. Plant drought resistant trees, shrubs and grasses.

NOTE: People on well water also should conserve in these ways. A drought can reduce the level of the ground water or deplete it entirely, meaning that the well could run dry. If that were to happen, the well must be dug deeper, a costly proposition and one that does not always succeed.