Water conservation

Water is a precious natural resource and its sustainable management is essential to protect the water environment and to meet current and future demand.

Population, household size and growth and wealth all affect how much water we use.  Factors such as climate change are also likely to put supplies under greater pressure in the future, making it important that we adopt more efficient water use.

We’re placing more and more demand on our water supply.  Climate change and an ever growing population means the way we currently use water is damaging our natural environment and is not sustainable.

To protect the UK’s water supplies for the future, there are simple steps that we can all take now to reduce the amount of water being wasted, to protect our precious water resources for the future.

In the home

• Turn off tap while cleaning your teeth, shaving or washing your face.  You can waste up to nine litres a minute by just letting the water pour down the sink
• Taking a short shower rather than a bath could save you up to 400 litres a week.  If you do have baths, only half fill them
• Fix any dripping tap - they can waste 90 litres a week which will cost a lot more than what might just be the price of a new washer
• Don’t overfill the kettle when making a cup of tea. Only fill and boil what you need, this will save you money on your energy costs too
• Only use the washing machine and the dishwasher when you can put on a full load. It wastes both water and energy to run a half full machine
• Keep cool water in the fridge so that you do not need to run water down the sink to have a cold drink
• Fit a water saving device in your cistern to save water when flushing, this can save you three litres a flush
• Think before throwing used water down the drain, eg water in a pan after cooking that could be reused for watering plants when cooled down

Outside your home

• Install a water butt in the garden to collect rainwater.  This will mean you always have water to use for watering the garden without the need to use fresh water from the hose.  Use the water regularly so that it can fill up during heavy rainfall and lessen the volume of water inundating drainage systems
• Using mulch on the garden, this helps the soil retain water so will mean you won’t have to water the garden as often
• Don’t overuse hoses or sprinklers in hot weather.  A sprinkler can use as much water in an hour as a family of four will use in a day.  Your lawn only needs watering once a week and it is better to water in the morning when the temperature is lower and the water will evaporate less
• Research your plants, some actually thrive in drier conditions and will not benefit from over watering
• Use a sponge and bucket of water to clean your car, or just keep headlights, mirrors and windows clean for safety reasons