Retrofit Week
Small Business Water Conservation Seminar
When: 9:30-10:30 a.m. Monday
Where: Main Street Market, 118 Main St.
Your Home, Your Water
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Home Depot, 924 Dawsonville Highway
Free home water assessment.
Kids Day
When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday
Where: INK, 999 Chestnut St.
Cost: $8
Garden Tour
When: 10 a.m. to noon Thursday
Where: Garden on Green, 711 Green St.
Win a 5-gallon rain barrel.
Aerator Trade Out Day
When: 2:30-6:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Market on the Green: Downtown Gainesville's Farmers Market
Free aerators
More info: Jennifer Flowers, 770-532-7462
Using less water isn't just good for the environment; it's good for your wallet.
Gainesville Public Utilities will hold daily water conservation seminars next week. The seminars will cover everything from gardening to small businesses and will show kids how they can help.
"Basically, what we're doing is telling people about small changes they can make in their homes to save water and more importantly save money," said Jennifer Flowers, Gainesville Water Conservation Specialist.
Flowers said the city has focused more in the past on changing habits, such as turning off the water when brushing their teeth. Next week, she said, residents will be able to learn how to save water at home.
One of the easiest ways to reduce water usage is to replace an old faucet aerator, the small fitting on the end of the faucet. They cost about $5, take five minutes to install and can cut water use in half.
People can take advantage of Aerator Trade-Out Day on Friday at the Downtown Gainesville Farmer's Market from 2:30-6:30 p.m.
"People can come and bring us their old faucet aerator and we'll trade them for new ones, and they can cut their water in half for free," Flowers said.
By installing new toilets and low-flow shower heads, residents can save a lot of money.
"We really hope to highlight that it's easy to save water, that it doesn't cost a lot to change things out to save water," Flowers said.
Children will have a chance to meet Captain Conservation and become Conservation Crusaders on Wednesday. Captain Conservation will be at Interactive Neighborhood for Kids from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. teaching kids about things they can do to help save water. He will get kids to take the message of water conservation home and share it with their families.
"For kids the main thing is turning off the water when you're not using it," Flower said.
The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension will be at the Garden on Green from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday to talk about fall gardening.
"If you're on city water it can be a big expense watering your plants, but if you get them established really well, then you don't use nearly as much," Flowers said.
Flowers said she hopes people learn that it doesn't cost a lot of money to save money over a short period of time.
"It's just making sure we're using the resource wisely and getting the most that we can out of it," Flowers said.