Water Conservation Tips: Going With The Flow

When it comes to conserving water, the SMG-managed Broward County Convention Center is going with the environmental flow!  We’re transforming our facility into an effective water saving organization where every drop counts.

When you think about water conservation, the first things that typically come to mind are not letting faucets run too long, fixing drips and taking shorter showers. Those are great places to start.  The Broward County Convention Center's water conservation program puts the cap on wasteful water usage with an all inclusive commitment composed of water-saving practices inside and out.

Inside, the Center has installed low-flow toilets, faucets, dishwashers and other innovative water saving devices that our guest are likely to notice. Outside, we’re taking steps that are not as obvious, but which save millions of gallons of water annually.

We’ve begun with revamping our Convention Center’s landscape design to maximize efficiency and reduce irrigation needs by using native and adaptive plants and trees which thrive in our South Florida climate and yet require less water than other greenery.  Installing a micro-drip irrigation system efficiently sends water directly to the roots of plants and trees, using 30 percent less water than a conventional sprinkler system. The Center also has minimized the amount of area covered with conventional, water-dependent turf grass.

These steps are part of a technique known as xeriscaping. This beautiful, Florida-friendly landscape is water-wise and drought resistant.  It makes the Broward County Convention Center green in more ways than one!

Even though three quarters of our planet is water, only a tiny percentage is usable. The demand continues to grow amid stories of scarcities in cities throughout the nation and the world. Water conservation is the most cost-effective and environmentally-sound way to reduce our demand for water.
Start Conserving Water Today
Here are some easy water-saving steps everyone can take:

1. Turn off the water!  When washing your hands, brushing your teeth, shaving or doing dishes, turn off the faucet when not directly in use.
2. Fix leaky faucets and toilets. If a faucet is dripping at the rate of one drop per second, it can waste approximately 2,000 gallons of water a year!
3. Take shorter showers and use ultra-low-flow showerheads.
4. Avoid prewashing dishes before loading the dishwasher.
5. Use dishwashers and washing machines only when they are fully loaded.
6. Adjust the level on your washing machine to match the load size.

We all can make a difference, one drop at a time!

Sustainably yours,
The Green Team

This article was previously published at the www.ftlauderdalecc.com blog.