Water efficiency
Water is precious, use it wisely
Top water tips
The bucket and sponge approach
Stop those drips
Rather than washing your car with a running hosepipe,
try using a bucket and sponge instead. Just 30 minutes
with a hosepipe can use more water than the average
family uses in a day.
A dripping tap can waste at least 5,500 litres of water a
year – that’s enough to fill a paddling pool every week
for the whole summer.
Drop a save-a-flush in your cistern
A shower timer makes you aware of how long you spend
in the shower. Try taking shorter showers to reduce the
amount of water you use.
About a quarter of all the clean, drinkable water we use
in our homes is flushed down the toilet. If you need to
buy a new loo, consider a water-efficient toilet or one
with a dual flush. If your loo is still as good as new, put
a displacement device into the cistern to save some
water.
Bathers beware
A bath uses around 80 litres, while a short shower can
use as little as 30 litres. But beware – many powershowers actually use more than a bath if you shower for
more than five minutes. If you do have a bath, you can
reuse the water on your houseplants or garden.
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Short showers save water
Cool water
Fill a jug with tap water and leave it to cool in your
fridge. This way you don’t have to run the tap for ages
just to get a cold drink.
Healthy teeth, healthy rivers
Remember to turn off the tap while brushing your
teeth – a running tap wastes over six litres a minute.
If the entire adult population of England and Wales
remembered to do this, we could save 180 million litres
a day – enough to supply nearly 500,000 homes.
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How much water do you use?
Calculate your household water use
Please write your answers in the empty boxes
Activity
Average amount
of water used
(litres)
x
Uses =
per
day
Bath
80
x
=
Power shower
(with pump to increase pressure)
70
x
=
Ordinary shower
35
x
=
Old toilet cistern (deduct 3 litres per flush if the
cistern is fitted with a water saving device)
9
x
=
New low volume cistern
6
x
=
Hand washing and teeth cleaning
(per person per day)
10
x
=
If carried out with the tap left running
(per person per day)
15
x
=
Using a washing machine (full or not)
80
x
=
Using the half load setting on your washing machine
60
x
=
Using a water efficient washing machine model
55
x
=
Using a dishwasher
35
x
=
Using the half-load setting on your dishwasher
20
x
=
Using a water efficient dishwasher
22
x
=
Washing dishes by hand
6
x
=
Cooking and drinking
(per person per day)
10
x
=
Daily Total
Bathroom
Kitchen
Your household
daily total
Number of people
in the house
÷
Amount per
person per day
=
litres
How does your use compare with the average of 150 litres per person per day?
Remember that watering your garden in the summer could make your total much higher.
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05/03/2012 09:11
Saving water in the garden
Be sprinkler savvy
We all love our gardens, but sprinklers can use as much as 1,000 litres of water
per hour – that’s more than a family of four uses in the home in a whole day. If
you use your sprinkler early in the morning or late in the evening, less water will
evaporate and more will get to the roots, where you actually want it to go.
You can with a watering can
By using a watering can, you can significantly reduce the amount of water
wasted.
Invest in a butt
Your roof collects thousands of litres of rain each year which just run straight into
the sewers. This water costs nothing; with a water butt you could water your
garden or your houseplants for free! To get a butt, visit www.sbw.savewater.co.uk
Magnificent mulch
Mulching is one of the greatest things you can do for your garden. Mulches such
as pebbles, gravel, cocoa shell, chipped bark and grass clippings should be spread
five to eight centimeters thick. Avoid mulching too close to plant stems as this can
lead to rotting in winter. Mulching will not only keep away water-loving weeds,
but will also keep the soil cool, decrease evaporation, and reduce soil compaction.
Soak, don’t sprinkle
Giving your plant roots a good soaking once or twice a week in dry weather is
much better than lightly watering them every day because most of that water just
evaporates.
Let the grass grow
Help prevent grass drying out by letting it grow a little longer in hot weather.
You could also raise the cutting height of your lawn mower. Remember that if the
lawn turns brown in dry weather it will green up when the rain returns.
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Waterwise plants
that need less water
The following is a list of drought
tolerant plants that are suitable for
the UK climate.
Lavender
Hebes
Catmint
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme
Abelia
Ivy
Periwinkle
Lilac
Pelargoniums
Windflower
Chamomile
Cow parsley
Mayweed
Granny’s bonnet
Michaelmas daisy
Oregano
Cornflower
Clematis
Crocus
Dahlia
Wallflower
Greengage
Morning Glory
Anemone
Iris
Love-in-a-mist
Evening Primrose
Poppies
For more information
www.rhs.org.uk
www.plantadvice.co.uk
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