y had been out in the sun too long. Yet if you add to the approximately 160 gallons per day of direct personal use (showering; washing the car, the dishes, and the dog; cooking; etc.), the 600 gallons per day that it takes to grow the food we eat in a day (one loaf of bread, 150 gallons; one egg, 40 gallons; one pound of beef, 2500 gallons), and the 1000 gallons per day that it takes for industry to produce our "consumables" (Sunday paper, 280 gallons; one pound of aluminum, 1000 gallons; one auto- mobile, 100,000 gallons), that 1800-gallon total gains some credibil- ity. From this perspective, putting a low-flow shower head on the shower will not do much to slow the country's growing water defi- cit. But since the issue immediately at hand is minimizing water flow into your septic tank disposal system and not saving the coun- try from the consequences of its insatiable thirst, let's focus on a few simple steps that will not require a total change in life-style to implement. LEAKS The first step in conserving household water use is to search for and eliminate leaks in the plumbing system. A leaking toilet can add several hundred gallons per day to the drain field, and may well cause immediate failure of an evapotranspiration system. Put some food coloring in the toilet reservoir and check the toilet bowl in 15 minutes or SO to see if any color shows up in the toilet bowl. The Northern Marin County (California) Water District provides the fol- lowing steps for correction of a leak. ONSITE WASTEWATER DISPOSAL Check the water level in the reservoir to make sure that water is not continuously running down the overflow tube. If it is, turn the adjustment screw SO as to lower the float; if there is no adjustment screw, carefully bend the float arm. If water flows into the reservoir when the float is fully elevated, replace the shut-off valve. Inspect the overflow pipe below the water level. Replace it if there are any pitholes. Check the plunger (tank ball) at the bottom of the tank to see if it seals properly. Remove 