If all U.S. households installed low-flow fixtures with water-saving features, the result would be an estimated savings of 5.4 billion gallons of water per day, according to DrinkTap.org. And with 38.8 million California residents in the midst of what may equate to being the worst drought in history, every drop does count, which is why we’ve provided you with some excellent low-flow fixture options for kitchens and baths.

Saving the environment and everything that comes along with it, like decreasing water consumption, may seem cliché, but if you are one of California’s many inhabitants, then you may be dealing with the unfortunate consequences of what happens when the well (literally) starts to run dry.

Whether you’re in the midst of the shortage, or still organizing your water-guzzling slip and slide lawn parties, then listen up, because this is a resource that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

With restrictions so extreme, rather than risk paying a fine for watering their lawns or consuming unnecessary resources, some Californians have resorted to painting their dried, brown bits of brittle formerly known as grass an acceptable shade of green just to maintain some curb appeal – and that’s only the superficial aspect of things.

In addition to cosmetic work, there are many other factors contributing to this water shortage. Agricultural use jeopardizes a large chunk of California’s water supply, and farmers are relying more and more on communal groundwater. In addition to their stressed out natural water resources, fracking is also to blame for this disaster of a drought.

But before you start blasting “Purple Rain” and jumping around on one foot while praying for a monsoon, get a grip on reality, and make a commitment to start saving some water (and your reputation) the easy way.

Conserving water can be done glamorously, with the addition of beautiful new low-flow fixtures, or by simply making a few quick economical modifications that will have you on your way to conserving water in an afternoon’s time. In addition to a clearer conscience and more resources to go around, you will also be saving some dough in the process. Think of it this way: less water equals more shoes. Now that’s a win-win!

When you’re perusing the aisles for your new low-flow items, keep these tidbits in mind:

• Toilet flushing uses the most water in the average home
• The majority of folks flush five times a day, adding up to 31 percent of overall water consumption
• Most older toilets use 3.6 gallons per flush, but can easily and cheaply be reduced to 3 gallons per flush
• Faucets consume around 15-18 percent of the overall water use in the average four-person home
• Find a faucet aerator that uses 1.5 gallons per minute or less, and save up to 3,150 gallons of water per year
• Shower heads below 2.5 gallons per minute will save you approximately 10 gallons of water per 20 minute shower

Still not sure where to begin? No worries – we’ve got you covered! Below you’ll find several stylish low-flow fixture ideas for kitchens and baths designed to accommodate a range of budgets.

Under $1000: Low-Flow Fixtures for Kitchens and Baths

Moen and TOTO, two environmentally conscious plumbing suppliers, are fans among the style conscious as well. The sleek STo kitchen faucet from Moen uses a 1.5 gallon per minute aerator and meets CalGreen and Georgia SB370 requirements. The Moen 90 Degree low-flow faucet also uses 1.5 gallons per minute, and the 90 Degree handheld shower fixture uses 1.75 gallons per minute. Finally, we have the water-conserving throne from high-end potty maker, TOTO. This two-piece toilet gives its users both 1.28 and 0.9 gallons per flush options, is WaterSense certified, and CalGreen compliant.

1. STo Stainless Steel Kitchen Faucet by Moen $910; 2. 90 Degree Brushed Nickel Bathroom Faucet by Moen $806; 3. 90 Degree Brushed Nickel Handheld Shower Head by Moen $537; 4. Connelly Colonial White Two-Piece Toilet by TOTO $650.

Under $300: Low-Flow Fixtures for Kitchens and Baths

From the familiar neighborhood Home Depot comes four additional low-flow kitchen and bath fixtures. The first is an ultra-shiny, low-flow kitchen faucet with detachable spray head that uses 1.8 gallons per minute. Next is the affordable and stylish Alteo bathroom collection. This three piece faucet uses 1.5 gallons per minute, and the showerhead uses 2.0 gallons per minute; both are WaterSense approved. The last fixture is a WaterSense approved, conservation conscious commode using a miniscule 1.28 gallons per flush and saves its owner up to 16,500 gallons per year when compared to an old 3.5 gallon toilet.

1. Simplice Polished Chrome Kitchen Faucet by KOHLER $167; 2. Alteo Polished Chrome Bathroom Faucet by KOHLER $151; 3. Alteo Polished Chrome Shower Collection by KOHLER $82; 4. Highline Water-Conserving Toilet by KOHLER $168.

Under $20: Low-Flow Fixtures for Kitchens and Baths

If you’re strapped for cash, or just satisfied with the fixtures you currently have, then look no further than these water saving kitchen and bathroom modifications. The first item is an aerator that easily attaches to most faucets and brings water consumption down to 0.5 gallons per minute. The next is an affordable standard shower head that, at 1.5 gallons per minute, can compete with the big boys in terms of water savings. Lastly, we have what is essentially a bladder-like reservoir that fits inside of your toilet tank. It’s better looking than a brick and also saves you around half a gallon of water with every flush.

1. Water Saving PCA Faucet Aerator by NEOPERL $3; 2. Eco-Friendly Shower Head by Pfister $13; 3. Toilet Tummy Tank Water Saver by AM Conservation Group $6.

Whether you’re broke, or prefer to spend money like the water you waste, there’s room in your life for some new low-flow fixtures in your kitchen and bath. Enlist your husband, partner, handyman, or plan a get together with your bestie and install a new water saving fixture. You’d better act quickly though…when you’re suddenly faced with a sea of paint swatches trying to decide which shade of green you should spray paint your lawn, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Related on EcoSalon

5 Long-Term Ways to Combat the California Drought

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Running water image via Shutterstock

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This week’s Link Love: We hear from Russell Brand on the tragic loss of Robin Williams’, the best way to do dishes and how to make your own natural deodorant, as well as big news for Tesla lovers and 3D printed shoes?!

If you haven’t read it yet, Russell Brand’s commentary on Robin Williams’ death is outstanding. [via the Guardian]

Are you doing dishes the right way to conserve water? [via Eat Drink Better]

5 DIY natural deodorant recipes for healthy pits that don’t stink. [via Organic Authority]

What say you, Mr. Musk? Tesla may make green technology, but California might give it a pass on building green factories. [via Grist]

Why yes, these are 3D printed shoes. [via Ecouterre]

Related on EcoSalon

Link Love: Whole Foods Delivers + Vinegar Cleaning Without the Smell + Why You’re Always Late

Link Love: The Best Supermodel Street Style + Juicing at Home + PETA and Detroit

Link Love: Is Almond Milk Wrong? + Eco Designers on E! + Why Men Suck at Oral Sex

Image via the Guardian

The post Link Love: Russell on Robin + Doing Dishes + DIY Deodorant Recipes appeared first on EcoSalon.

Best-selling author Thomas Kostigen shares simple, surprising tips to reduce your “water footprint.” (Hint: Turn out the lights… and don’t buy that extra pair of jeans!)

By KC Baker of Tonic.com as published March 2010.

It’s time for all of us to go on a water diet.

Long leisurely showers, running the water while brushing your teeth, even buying that extra pair of jeans you don’t really need – all of those seemingly small actions are dramatically decreasing the world’s water supply, says New York Times bestselling author Thomas Kostigen. And he should know: The author just released The Green Blue Book: The Simple Water-Savings Guide To Everything in Your Life, the most comprehensive book ever written about the world’s most precious resource.

“Right now, five million people die every year because of a lack of fresh water,” says Kostigen, whose latest book arrived just in time for today’s World Water Day, a United Nations’ initiative aimed at bringing attention to the planet’s escalating water crisis. “It’s not that we don’t have enough water. It’s that we’re not managing it correctly.”

Now, more than ever, we need to look at how much water we use – and waste – and do something about it before it’s too late, he says. “There’s a big crisis hitting us right here, right now, and that’s water,” says Kostigen – who also wrote the bestselling books You Are Here and The Green Book.

Think the water crisis is a third world problem? Think again.

The water crisis has already hit the United States in serious ways, Kostigen says: “Thirty six states in the next five years will experience some kind of drought. Texas, which is the second biggest agricultural state in the union, is now the driest region in the nation. The aquifer in the Great Plains is drying up, which means that farmers don’t have enough water for their crops. Cattle ranchers don’t have enough water for their cattle. There are wildfires in California, where we are rationing water. Arizona has run out of its water and has been forced to import it. A few years ago, Georgia almost ran out of water. A lot of it has to do with the shift in climate and our profligate use of water.”

Through his travels throughout the world and to the planet’s most environmentally vulnerable spots, he found that people in the US use more water than anywhere else. “In third world countries, where resources are scarce, they use five gallons of water a day for drinking, bathing, eating and for health reasons,” he says. “We use five gallons of water with each flush of the toilet.”

People in the US need about 13 gallons of water a day to drink, bathe and other things. “But we use almost 150 gallons a day per person,” he says. “There is a major disconnect between what we need and what we use. When you put that into that perspective, you start to think about what we can do to conserve water in our water diet.”

One way we waste water without even thinking about it is by making more coffee than we drink, he says. “Think about the water you leave in the bottom of the pot each day. That one cup of cold coffee adds up to two gallons of water per person for 1.1 billion people who don’t have access to fresh water around the world. If everyone would make the amount of coffee they need, that would save a huge amount of water.”

Big savings are also possible simply by ordering a salad once a week rather than a burger when you eat out. Beef uses 1,581 gallons of water per pound to process – more than any other kind of meat, Kostigen says. “One way to cut down on our water usage is by swapping things out. It doesn’t have to be an all-sum game. Swap out a hamburger for a veggie burger just once and save about 600 gallons of water. Ordering a salad saves about 750 gallons of water,” he explains.

Besides the water we use each day for cooking, bathing and washing dishes and clothes, we also need to consider the concept of “virtual water” – the amount of H2O it takes to make and grow food, clothes, household items and other things you own.

“It takes nearly 3,000 gallons of water to make a new pair of jeans,” he says. “With 450 million pairs sold annually in the United States, that comes to nearly 1.4 trillion gallons of water, which is equal to half of California’s entire yearly urban water demand.”

In America, we put “strange things in strange places,” he adds. “Like palm trees in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. We put species where they don’t belong in excess amounts, which leads to overwatering.”

Overwatering with water we simply don’t have to waste.

The solution? “We need to make smarter choices,” he says.

To reduce your own water footprint, try the following:

Turn off the lights: “We use 50 percent of our water supply in the United States to create energy,” he says. “Turning off the lights saves even more water than turning off the tap in your home.”

Buy local : “Buy apples and vegetables from local farmers markets,” he says. “This saves money in the transport of food from other areas.”

Put your water into your own bottles: “This is a big one,” he says. “It takes three liters of water to make the bottle for one liter of water.”

Water lawns and gardens less: “Seventy percent of all residential water goes for our lawns,” he says. “We over water our plants, lawns and gardens by about 50 percent on average.”

Buy what you need – especially when it comes to food: “Agriculture is the number one consumer of freshwater in the world, accounting for about 70 percent of its use,” he says. We waste 40 percent of the food we produce in the US and along with it, 25 percent of the total U.S. water supply it took to grow it.”

Go to the car wash: “Car washes use water more efficiently than doing it yourself with a hose,” he says. “And many car washes use recycled water.”

Turn off the tap when you are brushing your teeth.

None of it’s particularly difficult. Connecticut resident Michelle Kingsbury tells Tonic she has been practicing water conservation for years now – in small ways. “When I make coffee, I measure out the amount of water I need in a mug and put that amount of water in the coffee maker,” says the mother of three. “I leave buckets outside in the yard to collect water when it rains and water my garden with that. These are easy things to do that end up saving a lot of water.”

Kostigen hopes that his latest book, which is easy to read and even funny in parts, along with World Water Day and the April 18 Live Earth Run For Water event will help make people realize just how important it is to save water. “We need to decrease our water footprint,” he says. “Not just the water we see, but the water we don’t see – and make better choices, which will save millions of gallons of water.”

The beautiful thing about that? “It’s easy to do,” he says, “and everyone can do it.”

Click here to read more about World Water Day 2010.

Photo courtesy of Tom Kostigen, by malla_mi via Flickr, and by Hypergurl – Tanya Ann via Flickr.

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