Meet the Oakland woman who uses only 13 gallons of water a day

Oakland resident Faye Steiner was identified by the East Bay Municipal Water District as a super water-saver in fall 2015. Oakland resident Faye Steiner was identified by the East Bay Municipal Water District as a super water-saver in fall 2015. Photo: Faye Steiner Photo: Faye Steiner Image 1 of / 22 Caption Close Meet the Oakland woman who uses only 13 gallons of water a day 1 / 22 Back to Gallery

The average American uses about 50 to 70 gallons of water per day inside their homes for everything from washing dishes to taking showers.

In light of the California drought, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) asked its customers to cut back use to 35 gallons.

Many are successfully meeting this request—and then there's Oakland resident Faye Steiner who is getting by on only 13 gallons. EBMUD recently identified Steiner as one of its super-savers.

"She's an impressive example of someone who has made a concerted effort to conserve water," says EBMUD spokesperson Tracie Morales-Noisy. "She's using well below what we ask people to use indoors."

The former Stanford economics professor who's returning to school to become a physician's assistant lives in a spacious one-bedroom apartment and does many of the obvious things to save water such as turning off the faucet when brushing her teeth and soaping her hands. Her showers are no longer than two minutes, maybe three or four if she's washing her hair, which is every other day.

Steiner's apartment dates back to the 1920s and leaky faucets are common. She reports these immediately to the landlord. And like many Californians, she conserves by flushing the toilet only when there's solid waste—but then she takes this practice a step farther by asking her guests to skip the flush.

"I'm pretty religious about this," Steiner said. "Most people who are regular guests here know and they don't' flush. My friend's boyfriend came over once and said 'I'm sorry to say I flushed your toilet.' This happens."

In the kitchen, Steiner takes water-saving to an even more extreme level. Pots in in the sink catch runoff, whether it's soapy water from washing hands or drips from the faucet. This gets used and reused to wash dishes. She drinks from the same glass throughout the day and only washes it once in the evening. Same goes for plates and cutlery.

Butternut squash ravioli are a favorite meal and Steiner eats a bowlful nearly every day. She'll use the same water for boiling the ravioli over several days. After her morning oatmeal, she uses recycled water to soak the dirty pot, and then draws from that water to rinse her bowl.

In the kitchen, Steiner uses water at least twice, but more often three or four times, occasionally five.

"I make exceptions if things get gross," she said. "Right now the pot collecting water in the sink probably needs to be changed. I realize this all might sound hard-core but it's just my routine. These are now my habits."

Since most people haven't developed the same tendencies, Steiner prohibits guests from touching her kitchen sink and faucet.

"I try to keep control over my system," Steiner said. "I don't want guests coming over and doing dishes anyway. They're my guests."

A 1.6-cubit-feet portable Magic Chef washing machine requires little water to begin with but Steiner has a trick for forcing it to use even less. She crams it full with dirty laundry and starts on a cycle for a large load, but mid-wash she manually switches the cycle to a small load.

Steiner thinks conserving comes easily because she was raised by a mom who was born in Russia where resources were tight and who never wasted anything. She also grew up in New York City in drought times. "I remember my dad saying, 'When it's yellow let it mellow and when it's brown flush it down,'" she said.

Steiner thinks she could cut her use back even more. "I feel guilty that I'm not turning off the shower consistently every time when I'm not actively using water. But heating in this apartment isn't good and the shower can be a way to warm up."

But remember, her showers are only two minutes so I think we can forgive her for that.