Water is not as abundant in England and Wales as you would
think. We only have 1,334 cubic metres (m3) per person a
year – much less than France (3,065 m3) or even the
hotter Mediterranean countries of Italy (2,785 m3) and
Spain (2,775 m3).
The average person in England and Wales uses
150 litres of water every day. Most of it is used for washing and
toilet flushing, but it also includes drinking, cooking, car
washing and watering the garden. We use almost 50% more water than
25 years ago, partly because of the use of power showers
and other water using household appliances.
Did you know that leaving a tap running while
brushing your teeth or shaving could be wasting up to 5 litres of
water a minute? The Environment Agency website has lots of top tips
for saving water in your home and garden.
There’s lots of things you can do to
save water – here are our top tips:
- Fit aerator nozzles to taps, these reduce
flow without compromising use.
- Fix dripping taps.
- Turn the tap off when you clean your teeth or shave .
- If your toilet is older than 2001 try fitting a "hippo" or
other displacement device - often available free from your water
company. However, if it becomes necessary to flush twice you
should remove the device.
- If you buy a new toilet consider a dual flush model, these use
about four litres on the lower flush and six on the full flush.
Some use even less than this.
- A shower can use less water than a bath but only up to a point.
Ideally you should use a normal shower rather than a power shower
and only spend about five minutes in there.
- Keep a jug of water in the fridge so you do not have to run the
tap until it goes cold .
- Always run the washing machine with a full load so that you do
fewer cycles per week. Also be aware that most half load functions
are relatively inefficient as they use more than half the water of
a full load.
- Similarly, if you have a dishwasher, only run it when it is
full. And do not rinse the plates under a tap first - dishwashers
are designed to deal with dirty plates.
- Wash vegetables in a bowl rather than under a running tap and
use the water afterwards on the garden.
- If washing up by hand, you can throw the dirty water
onto the garden.
- If you are buying new appliances, try to go for those with the
best water efficiency rating. White goods are marked on a sliding
scale with "A" being the most efficient and "G" being the
least.
- Even if there is no hosepipe ban in your area, consider using a
watering can rather than a hose because you can water more
accurately - and if you are having to carry the water you will be
more choosy about where you pour it.
- If you do use a hose make sure it has a trigger nozzle so you
can't leave it running unattended.
- Instead of using a sprinkler, leave your lawn to grow a little
longer in summer as that helps it conserve its own moisture.
- Water the garden in the evening to minimise evaporation.
- Install a water butt to gather rainwater.
- Wash your car using a bucket and sponge rather than a hose as
this will save a lot of water. You can even buy special car wipes
that don't need any water.
Links:
Offers on buying water butts (external link)
Environment Agency (external link)
More tips from Wessex Water (external link)
Calculate your water usage (external link)