This past weekend Keep Liberty Beautiful teamed up with Yamaha Marine, a global leader in the marine industry with 1,350 employees in the state, and five other Georgia’s coastal counties. The coastal Georgia cleanup effort coincides with World Oceans Day which was on June 8.  

Keep Liberty Beautiful had 171 volunteers meet in five locations throughout Liberty County: Riceboro Boat Ramp, Jones Creek Park, Riceboro Creek Pavilion, Sunbury Boat Ramp, Eve Park Pavilion / Half Moon. The volunteers cleanup efforts helped prevent 1,425 pounds of land litter from becoming marine debris. The volunteers also recycled 225pounds of recyclable materials. Keep Golden Isles Beautiful and Keep Liberty Beautiful provided all of the cleanup supplies and volunteers received event T-Shirts. 

When you think of water you may think that we have so much of it on earth that we do not have to worry about it. I am here to tell you that is not true. Water is an essential resource for us. We cannot live without it. People waste hundreds of gallons of water every day! When we take the time to learn better water practices, we can all become “water savers” instead of “water wasters.” Here are a number of water saving ideas from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. There are several ways that you can put into place and start your water saving experience.

Household ideas:

• Install a hot water recirculation device. By recirculating water that would otherwise go down the drain, you can save 2-3 gallons of water for each shower taken or 16,500 gallons a year per household. This may mean an average annual savings of $50 on your water bill and $40 on your energy bill.

• Never install a water-to-air heat pump or air-conditioning system. Air-to-air models are just as efficient and do not waste water.

• Install water-softening systems only when necessary. Save water and salt by running the minimum amount of regenerations necessary to maintain water softness. Turn softeners off while on vacation.

• Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it, such as watering a plant or garden. For example, reuse fish tank water on your household plants. It makes good fertilizer, too.

• Verify that your home is leak free, because many homes have hidden water leaks. Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.

• Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers. If your faucet is dripping at the rate of one drop per second, you can expect to waste 2,700 gallons per year. That is money going down the drain.

• Retrofit all wasteful household faucets by installing aerators with flow restrictors.

• Insulate your water pipes. You’ll get hot water faster and avoid wasting water.

Laundry ideas:

• Unlike your dishwasher, the amount of water your washing machine uses is adjustable, so plan loads and adjust according to the load size.

• Look for a water-saving washing machine to purchase.

• Frontload machines use less water than top load machines.

Kitchen ideas:

• Minimize the use of kitchen sink disposals. They require a lot of water to operate properly. Start a compost pile as an alternate method of disposing of food waste.

• Store drinking water in the refrigerator rather than letting the tap run to get a cool glass of water.

• Do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost them overnight in the refrigerator.

• When washing dishes by hand, fill one sink or basin with soapy water. Quickly rinse under a slow stream of water from the faucet. Use the dirty water to run your sink disposal, if necessary.

• Fully load automatic dishwashers. They use the same amount of water no matter how much is in them.

• Buy dishwashers with water and energy saving options.

Bathroom ideas:

• Check for toilet leaks by adding food coloring to the tank. If the toilet

is leaking, color will appear in the bowl within 30 minutes. Check the toilet for worn out, corroded, or bent parts. You can buy kits to do this but this is essentially what the kit will do.

• Consider purchasing Low Flow toilets that can reduce indoor water use by 20 percent.

• Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues, insects,

and other similar waste in the trash rather than the toilet. It is not a trash can!

• Replace your showerhead with an ultra low-flow version to save up to 2.5 gallons per minute.

• Take shorter showers. Try a “Navy” shower: get wet, turn off the water, soap and scrub, then turn the water on to rinse.

• Use the minimum amount of water needed for a bath by closing the

drain first and filling the tub only 1/3 full. The initial burst of cold water can be warmed by adding hot water later.

• Don’t let the water run while shaving, washing your face, or brushing your teeth.

For more information on conserving water, contact Keep Liberty Beautiful at (912) 880-4888 or klcb@libertycountyga.com.