Showerhead Exchange Program

The Highlands Soil and Water Conservation District (HSWCD) was the recipient of a Community Education Grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.  The funds that were awarded were used to purchase low-flow shower heads to give away to those who wanted to help in the battle to conserve our precious water.  In addition to the shower head give always, the District  held demonstrations of the low-flow devices.

Each demonstration included an educational presentation on water saving techniques and literature was provided on the many ways to be a good steward of our natural resources.  It is HSWCD’s goal to educate people and promote water resources protection. 

According to Don Vandervort’s Home Tip’s on Saving Water, “Three billion gallons of water flow through showerheads every day in this country--half of it unnecessarily. Most showerheads use twice the water needed for a thorough, enjoyable shower. This drain on one of our most precious resources, clean water, exacts an unnecessary toll on both the environment and your pocketbook. To get clean water, we tap lakes, build dams and reservoirs and construct processing plants. By using more than we need, we overload sewer and septic systems and leach fields. Both the water itself and the energy needed to heat it cost you money.”

But you can do something about it! There are many ways to conserve water whether you are a landowner or a homeowner.  One way is to convert your old water guzzling shower head into a new low-flow efficient one.  It will only take a small amount of your time to install and in addition to saving water, it will save you money.  You can save as much as $50.00 - $75.00 per year on water bills and as much as $20.00 - $50.00 on your energy bill.

Your shower uses about 22 percent of the total water used in your home. A large portion of that water goes through your hot water heater, which, in turn, makes your electric bill higher. Generally, an old standard shower head with a five minute shower would use approximately 30 gallons of water.  With these low-flow devices you can cut your shower water use by two-thirds.  And if you go a step further and keep your shower under five minutes, you’ll save even more water.  New low-flow shower heads deliver about two and a half gallons of water per minute; older fixtures can deliver as high as eight gallons per minute.

Homeowner checking out the low flow shower head demo.             Corine Burgess talks about low flow devices to homeowners.                    Homeowners signing up for free shower heads.