Fourteen families who participated in a water conservation program at East Central Elementary reported reduced water use and lower water bills after three months, according to program sponsor Coosa River Basin Initiative. The program encouraged families to change water use behavior and install water-saving plumbing fixtures.

The conservation program was a partnership between East Central, the Rome Water and Sewer Department and the Rome Rotary Club. Kits included low-flow showerheads, faucet aerators and other water saving devices were given to students, who then tracked their family’s water usage from January through March 2009. They then compared it to water use during the same period in 2008.

Three students and their families received cash awards from CRBI for their conservation efforts. These families saw their water usage reduced substantially as a result of this program.

Student Jacob Harris and his family reduced water use by 47 percent, winning a $150 award. With savings of 36 percent, second place and $100 went to Phoebe Shane and her family. Trevor Proctor and his family took third place and a $50 prize, reducing water use by 18 percent.

Much of the Harris family’s savings can be attributed to their new more efficient washing machine, according to Jacob’s father, Jeff Harris.

He said the family also became very conscious of their water use, reminding each other to turn off faucets while brushing teeth and doing dishes and never watering their lawn or washing their cars. They also installed the low flow shower heads provided by CRBI and used toilet tank banks — devices that displace water in the toilet tank reducing the water needed for each flush.

“My children are very competitive and when we decided to participate, we went all the way,” Harris said. “Once we began to see savings on our water bill, we also became motivated to save on our electricity — changing all our light bulbs to fluorescents.”

Phoebe’s family replaced two of the home’s old toilets with newer, low flow models, switched to low flow showerheads and became much more conscious of their water use — taking shorter showers and turning off unnecessary running faucets.

“Changing the shower heads was really easy. As a family, we like to be conscious of how much water we use, and seeing the difference in water pressure between our old shower heads and the low flow models was a wake-up call for our family to pay attention, especially considering last summer’s drought,” said Jean Blakely, Phoebe’s mother.

Trevor and his family also installed toilet tank banks and made an effort to conserve water daily.

Debra Proctor, Trevor’s mother, said she was surprised by the results, and found conserving to be simple, joking, “If my husband had found it difficult he would have complained. We will continue trying to save water and money on our water bill.”

“These examples show just how much we can save by taking a few simple steps,” said Joe Cook, CRBI Executive Director and Riverkeeper. “If everyone pitched in like these families, we could keep more water in our rivers to maintain its health and provide enough water for our downstream neighbors.”