Myrdal, Utah — 2020 is the driest year on record in Utah, with 90% of the state being extremely dry. This week, KSL investigators are exploring simple ways to save water, which are beyond the way we water our lawns, because every drop of water is important.  

One way to reduce daily water consumption is to replace old shower heads with low-flow shower heads.  

The coach of Josh Meyers conducts comprehensive training at the Factum Stadium in Midvale. Although he is training other people, he is also sweating profusely.  

"I'm very hot. I'm sweating. I'm very clingy," he said. "The first thing I want to do is take a shower."  

Meyers takes a shower several times a day, which makes him a connoisseur of various showers. 

"What is a good shower?" the KSL investigator asked him.  

"The shower room, but post that-the flow rate of the water," he replied.  

Oh oh. If this is how Meyers really likes his shower, he might regret agreeing to help us do a little experiment.  

In his home, we gave him a new environmentally friendly shower head for $40, which was purchased in a large hardware store. Instead of his shower currently pumping two and a half gallons of water per minute, our replacement shower head can drain 1.75 gallons of water per minute.

When Meyers took a bath to test the new low-flow shower head, KSL investigators did some mathematical calculations.  

Most standard shower heads we find on store shelves have a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute. Our low flow option is 1.75 gallons per minute.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, the average shower time in the United States is 8 minutes. At that time, the low-flow shower head will discharge 14 gallons, and the standard shower head will discharge 20 gallons. You can save 6 gallons of water every time you use the low-flow shower.  

This alone is considerable, but if we shrink and assume that all 3.206 million Utahans take a shower once a day, and if every Utahian uses a similar low-flow shower head, the water savings will climb to over 19.2 million gallons per day .  

In addition to protection, we also discovered another reason why you might want to reduce the amount of water flowing from the shower to the drain-it can protect your skin.  

"I think low flow is perfect for the skin," said Dr. Rebekah Clifford, a dermatologist at Granger Medical Clinic.  

Clifford said that many people take the wrong shower and wash away the important oils that our skin uses as a protective barrier. Without it, we may experience itchy skin and rashes.  

"If you take a long shower, shower many times a day, you are scrubbing your skin, taking a hot bath-all of which will take away natural oils," she explained.  

After trying out the new low-flow shower head, we got Meyers' views on low-flow and standard shower heads.  

"The flow rate is significantly reduced. I noticed that cleaning is a bit difficult in some corners and crevices, but if I save some money and save some water, I would say,'Why not?'"  

If you have any ideas on how we can save water, and you would like us to investigate to find out how much we can save, please let us know. Call (385) 707-6153 or send an email to matt@ksl.com.