Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Unless North Carolina seeks new water conservation methods, the ongoing population boom will make it difficult for state officials to prevent long-term water shortages, experts told hundreds of state and local leaders Friday.
If simple technology solutions such as low-flow shower heads aren't used, governments will have to consider limits on residential growth or the development of smaller, more expensive water reservoirs, said John Morris, director of the North Carolina Division of Water Resources.
"Our ability to add to our supply of water is going to level off because we're only working with the same amount of rainfall," Morris said. "Water is going to get more expensive and more difficult to find."
The meeting, dubbed the Strategic Water Technology Conference, was billed as a discussion of long-term solutions, but it also underscored the urgency of the state's worsening drought.
Officials called the meeting just a month ago, but local and state leaders packed a Raleigh conference room to hear the solutions.
Morris said in an interview that state leaders should consider providing rebates to people who purchase low-water appliances and assistance to help people install shower heads or other tools to lower consumption.
He also suggested that state leaders provide consumers with a water efficiency standard, much like the "Energy Star" label that goes on efficient appliances.
He expressed concern about a growth in per capita water use, speculating that more elaborate landscapes in new subdivisions may be straining resources.
Conservation leaders shared ideas on capturing rainwater, water reclamation and the use of drought-tolerant plants. Mike Nicklas, the president of Raleigh-based architectural firm Innovative Design, suggested that energy efficiency would also help take the burden off utility companies that use water.
The country loses billions of gallons of water per day because of leaks in pipes and that governments can use electronic listening devices to detect those spots, said Lloyd Hathcock, chairman of the American Water Works Association's National Water Conservation Committee.
"Water conservation is not a one-size fit all," Hathcock said. "What's going to satisfy the needs for somebody in western North Carolina may not be the same group of practices that satisfy the needs in eastern North Carolina."
Exceptional drought conditions -- the worst category described by the U.S. Drought Monitor -- now cover 66 percent of the state. The remainder of North Carolina is under either extreme or severe drought, according to the monitor report released Thursday.
