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Families throughout the country have been hit by huge increases in the cost of natural gas this winter, creating a big impact on utility budgets. The BWL doesn’t provide natural gas as one of its utility services, and the price you pay for electricity has remained stable. But we can still help you save money on your energy bill. For most customers, heating and cooling accounts for nearly half the energy use in the home, but lighting, cooking and appliance use takes up about a third. Here are some things you can do to cut down on those costs: · Use compact fluorescent lights in areas where your lights are on the most. These bulbs are four times more efficient, cost less to operate and last 10 times as long as standard incandescent bulbs. · Turn off lights when you leave a room. · Use a microwave to defrost food and cook small items. · Operate your dishwasher and washing machine only when there’s a full load. · Choose the air-dry option on your dishwasher or open the dishwasher after the final rinse. When shopping for appliances, remember there are really two price tags. The first covers the purchase price and the second is what you pay to operate it. The most efficient appliances carry the ENERGY STAR® label. Look for it whenever you buy an appliance, and click here to visit the ENERY STAR® Web site. You’ll save big money on your operating cost.
PROTECTING YOUR HOME
FROM HOUSEHOLD LEAD EXPOSURE If you’re planning to buy, rent or renovate a home built before 1978, there are some things you should know about lead and lead-based paint. Many houses and apartments built before 1978 have paint that contains lead. Lead from paint, chips and dust can pose serious health hazards if not taken care of properly. Lead exposure is especially harmful to young children and babies. Health officials agree that the biggest danger of lead exposure comes from lead in old paint. For this reason, landlords must disclose known information on lead-based paint hazards before leases take effect. Sellers must also disclose known information on lead-based paint hazards before selling a house. Although not considered a major source of exposure, lead can also be found in drinking water. Up until the early 1950s water utilities, including the BWL, commonly used lead service lines to connect houses to water mains in the street. Lead service lines aren’t the only source of exposure. Lead can also dissolve into drinking water from household plumbing. For that reason, all customers should use only the cold-water tap to draw water used for drinking or cooking. If water has been standing in household pipes for several hours, you should also flush old water out of your system before using water for drinking or cooking. The BWL is in the second year of an aggressive 10-year program to remove all lead service lines from its water system. We also provide free water filters and replacement cartridges to our water customers who still have lead service lines. If you’re not sure whether your house has a lead service line, we can tell you. Just call our Customer Service Center at 702-6006. Please click here for more facts about lead in drinking water. And, for more information about the household dangers of lead paint, call the National Lead Information Clearinghouse at 1-800-424-LEAD. The Ingham County Health Department is also an excellent source of information about household lead dangers. Call them at 887-4312.
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Arsenic not a concern for
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Groundwater program offers free water quality assessmentsMid-Michigan’s drinking water comes from wells drilled some 400 feet below the earth’s surface, but what we do above the ground can affect the quality of our drinking water under the ground. The Michigan Groundwater Stewardship Program (MGSP) exists to help every Michigan resident learn to protect our shared water resources. MGSP offers Home*A*Syst, a free service that offers practical advice and simple home maintenance tasks that help prevent groundwater contamination. A visit from an MGSP representative will show you how to protect and improve water quality around your home. MGSP also offers free water quality presentations to groups that want to learn more about environmental stewardship, where your water comes from, where it goes, and how you can protect it. For more information, or to schedule a home visit or group presentation, call Stephaney Guild at the Ingham Conservation District at 676-2290. |
DO ONE THING Last year’s deadly tsunami and hurricanes Katrina and Wilma taught us that natural disasters can strike at any time, often without warning. The City of Lansing’s Emergency Management Division wants to make sure all Lansing residents are prepared if a natural or man-made disaster strikes mid-Michigan. That’s why they support Do One Thing, a community effort to ensure individuals take the responsibility to personally prepare for emergencies. This month’s focus is on drinking water. While we’re proud of the reliability of our water system, service interruption is possible during an emergency. Do One Thing urges families to buy and store a 72-hour supply of bottled water. That equals one gallon per person per day, and another gallon for each pet in the home. During an emergency, drink at least two quarts of water a day. The rest of your emergency water supply is for hygiene. Replace your water supply every six months if you’ve bottled your own water, and always sanitize bottles before refilling them. If you buy commercially bottled water, it should be replaced once a year. Store your water in a cool, dark place. |
HERE ARE WAYS YOU CAN SAVE ON YOUR ENERGY
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