If you need to let the water run to heat it up, capture the cold stuff in a bucket first to use for watering potted plants. Or heat your cold water on the stove or in the microwave.

Practice speedy showers and put a bucket in your shower to catch some of that excess water to reuse in watering plants.

Only wash full loads of dishes in the dishwasher and full loads of clothes in the washing machine, so you don’t waste precious water for just a few items.

If you must wash the car, wash it on the grass so you’ll be watering the lawn while you do.

Position sprinklers so they’re not watering any pavement. And water in the morning or at night when the soil will soak it up better.

Don’t let the water run when brushing your teeth or shaving. If everyone turned off the faucet for those little chores, we’d save a lot of water that way!

Look into rain barrels at The Home Depot that catch rain water (next time it comes) and hold it for personal irrigation use.

And finally, be conscious of your daily water use. It’s hard to keep conservation in mind for a resource that comes flowing freely from a faucet. But if you’re facing drought conditions, you need to think of the bigger picture and save water as a community. Do your part and keep water flow to a new low.