Water Conservation
The water at Stovepipe Wells comes from the underground water table, many feet below the surface. Surface water in the park is scarce.
Taking groundwater from one area can cause the water level to go down miles away. The Devil’s Hole Pupfish, an endangered species found only in Death Valley, lives in a closed pool at the mercy of available groundwater levels. The National Park makes an admirable effort to maintain water levels at Devil’s Hole. Limiting our water consumption can measurably assist the NPS in their efforts to preserve water levels and the habitat of this endangered fish.
What Can We Do?
A seven minute shower consumes 8.75 gallons of water; cutting your shower by 2 minutes will save 2.5 gallons! Our showers include a five-minute timer to help you keep track of your water usage – give it a try!
Laundering all towels daily consumes about 10 gallons of water per room. Laundering all bedsheets daily consumes about 20 gallons of water per room. Participate in our towel and linen reuse program by hanging up your towels to re-use tomorrow and you’ll save that water. We’ll make your bed with the same sheets, unless you put out the placard to request fresh ones.
Turn off the water while brushing or shaving to save even more water.
We have recently installed patented vacuum-flow showerheads, calibrated to give you excellent water pressure, but only using 0.75 gallons of water per minute. Additionally, sink faucet aerators that flow at an amazingly low 0.375 gallons per minute, with ample pressure for hand washing have been added.