Saving water at home, in the garden or at work takes very little effort, but makes a surprisingly big difference. In general, this involves simply cutting out the amount of water we are wasting through our day-to-day habits. Turning the taps off when you brush your teeth, for example, can save up to 6 litres a minute. If the entire adult population of England and Wales did this, we could save a total of 180 mega litres a day, enough to supply nearly 500,000 houses.
Tips on Saving Water at Home
- Vegetables and fruit should be washed in a bowl not under a running. The leftover water can then be used for watering plants.
- Don’t use more water than required when you boil water in saucepans and kettles - you’ll save energy and water.
- Keep a bottle or jug of water in the fridge instead of running taps until the water runs cold.
- Half-load programmes on dishwashers and washing machines use more than half the water and energy of a full load so don’t put them on until they are full.
- Don’t leave the tap running while you brush your teeth, shave or wash your hands, as this can waste up to 6 litres of water per minute.
- While waiting for the water in the shower to warm up, collect the water in a bucket and use it to flush the toilet or water plants.
- A 5-minute shower uses about a third of the water of a bath. But remember that power showers can use more water than a bath in less than 5 minutes.
- Old toilet cisterns can use as much as 9 litres of clean water every flush. Reduce this by placing a ‘save-a-flush’, ‘hippo’ or Interflush kit in the cistern to reduce water usage.
- Don’t flush cotton wool and tissues down the toilet; put them in a waste bin.
- Dripping taps can waste up to 15 litres of water a day so make sure you replace worn tap washers.
- Burst water pipes can cause serious damage as well as waste water so make sure that your water pipes and external taps are lagged in time for the cold winter months.
Tips on Saving Water in the Garden
- Collect rainwater and use a watering can instead of a hose. If you prefer to use a hosepipe, fit a trigger nozzle to control the flow.
- Water your garden in the cool of the early morning or evening. This will reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation.
- If you water plants and shrubs too often their roots will remain shallow, weakening the plant. Leave them alone until they show signs of wilting.
- Regularly weed and hoe your garden, to ensure that watering helps plants and not weeds.
- Plant flowers and shrubs that thrive in hot and dry conditions such as thyme, evening primrose, rock rose, Californian poppy, pinks, lavender, buddleia and hebes.
- Mulches such as wood chips, bark and gravel help to prevent water evaporation and also suppress weed growth, saving you both water and time spent weeding.
- Lawns can survive long periods of dry weather if the grass is not cut too short. Even if the grass turns brown, it will quickly recover after a few days of rain.
- Garden sprinklers can use as much water in an hour as a family of four uses in a day. If you use a sprinkler, many water companies require you to have a water meter fitted.
Source: www.environment-agency.gov.uk 2012
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