Conservation Cat

I have trained my cat, Alex, to monitor the water usage in our home. After each shower, she enters to evalute the amount of water used and if there has been any waste.

By performing a series of precise measurements, she is able to critique the user's showering technique and provide useful information as to how they may reduce their impact on the planet's water supply in the future.

Alex's Suggestions:

Install a water-efficient shower head with a flow rate of less than 2.5 gallons (9.5 liters) per minute. (Replace an existing shower head if a one gallon bucket placed under the flow takes less than 20 seconds to fill.)

Take a five-minute shower that uses about 12.5 gallons of water. Since the average shower can use up to 25 gallons of water, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), you're already on your way to saving half that amount.

For the truly eco-committed, consider the occasional "military" shower: Turn the shower off when you soap up, then back on while you rinse.

To eliminate the use of water completely, lick yourself all over several times a day. This may be done anywhere and no one even seems to mind if you clean your nether regions in their presence.

The third highest use of indoor water is bathing, and because most of us like to use warm water when we bathe, it's also the second highest use of energy in the home.

As a fair warning to those of you who may be guests at my home in the future, Alex does not take kindly to those who waste water during this time of statewide drought. Please, do not let this happen to you!