Contaminated freshwater is a major concern for most cities, even in places where the municipal water supply is reused many many times before being discharged into the environment. This increases the level of contamination each time it passes through our homes and cities.

Conserving water also decreases the amount of energy used on pumping. It also decreases the reliance upon our source water, meaning lakes, streams and rivers. These can be pumped too low so that animals suffer or they can become polluted.

Laundry uses much of a household’s water intake, so it makes sense to look into water usage as the source becomes more limited due to climate change, also water supply and service is very costly. Some washing machines have been designed to use a fraction of the wash water since the 1970’s by recycling there gray-water from one load to another and only using fresh water to rinse.