The City of Charlottetown would like to see resident install new, more efficient, showerheads. (Kevin Yarr/CBC)

Charlottetown Water and Sewer Utility is selling water-saving devices at a subsidized cost in an effort to reduce water use by the city.

The sale is part of a larger plan to minimize water use in the city.

The Tracadie Bay-Winter River Watershed group has been urging the city to reduce consumption since the Brackley branch of the Winter River dried up this summer, six weeks earlier than it did last year. In August, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans warned Charlottetown it could face corrective action if it doesn't stop drawing so much water out of the watershed.

The city of Charlottetown gets virtually all its water out of the Winter River watershed.

Last week council ordered a toughening of water conservation rules for the month of September. Now the city's water and sewer utility is selling bathroom faucet aerators for just $1 and low-flow showerheads for $4 in an effort to reduce consumption further.

"This is a nice low cost way where you get a pretty good return on your investment," said Ramona Doyle, projects officer with the utility.

"It's a small change that can make a difference in the water consumption in your home. Our water conservation program is pretty much exclusively about mitigating the impacts that our water consumption is having on Winter River."

The products are for sale at the utility desk at city hall until supplies run out.