Ways to save water
Water covers about 71% of the earth's surface. 97% of the earth's water is found in the oceans (too salty for drinking, growing crops, and most industrial uses except cooling). 3% of the earth's water is fresh.
2.5% of the earth's fresh water is unavailable: locked up in glaciers, polar ice caps, atmosphere, and soil; highly polluted; or lies too far under the earth's surface to be extracted at an affordable cost. 0.5% of the earth's water is available fresh water for us to use.
If the world's water supply were only 100 litres (26 gallons), our usable water supply of fresh water would be only about 0.003 litre (one-half teaspoon).
This supply is continually collected, purified, and distributed in the natural water cycle.
Our water and carbon footprints are closely linked, that why our environmental impact is often referred to as our Ecological Footprint. In the UK we each use on average 3,500 litres of water each day. Much of this is within the home, but some of it is hidden in the food we eat and the other products we buy.
Here are some facts about water, how we use it in the UK and most importantly, how we can save water and reduce our Ecological Footprints.
| Simple water saving steps for every household | Potential annual cost saving | Annual CO2e saving and carbon equivalent in driving distance |
|---|---|---|---|
Washing machine | When buying a new washing machine look for the energy and water efficiency labels. Those that tend to save on energy also save on water as the majority of energy required for washing clothes comes from heating up the water. The more water efficient your appliance is, the more energy sufficient it will be.
| ||
Use your washing machine at lower temperatures and only when full | Use washing machine 30-degree cycles instead of higher temperatures. Add a small scoop of bicarbonate of soda to your whites or baby clothes wash to help keep them white. Only wash your clothes when you have a full load to reduce the number of times you use your machine. | £14 for washing at 30, £14 for reducing the number of times you wash your clothes by one a week | 11kg CO2e for washing at 30 (40 miles Swansea to St Fagans) 12kg CO2e for washing your clothes once less per week (43 miles Swansea to Ikea, Cardiff) |
Running your dishwasher | Run your dishwasher when it is full to reduce water usage and the number of times you use it by one run per week. | £14 | 11kg CO2e (40 miles Swansea to St Fagans) |
Take a shower rather than a bath | If a typical family replace their inefficient shower head with a water efficient one, they could save around £45 off their gas bills and around £25 off their water bills (if they have a water meter) each year. That's a total saving of around £70. Keep your shower time to 4 minutes. And swap one bath a week to a shower. | £70 for keeping showers to 4 minutes, £12 for swapping one bath a week with a shower for the average family home | 205kg CO2e for keeping showers to 4 min (743 miles Swansea to Plymouth and back twice) 35kg CO2e for swapping one bath a week (127 miles Swansea to Porthmadog) |
Don't leave your tap running - turn it off | A running tap can use more than ten litres of water a minute, so turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face. Use cold water if you don't need hot. | ||
Don't be a drip | A dripping tap can waste a lot of water. If your tap drips 10 times in a minute that will mean that it will waste about 3 litres a day which will add up over a year, especially if you are on a water meter. Make sure your taps are properly turned off and change washers promptly when taps start to drip. | Currently it costs £1.95 per cubic metre of water if you have a water meter. If you leave your tap dripping for a whole year this could cost you around £200, that has literally gone down the drain! | |
Mulch your flower and vegetable beds | Putting a minimum of a 3 cm layer of mulch on your flower and vegetable beds helps stop water from evaporating and cuts down on the amount of watering required (and supresses weeds too!). Thoroughly water first and then apply the mulch. Mulching may only need to be done once or twice in the growing season depending on what you use and it can reduce your need to water dramatically. You may only need to water once a week for your plants to remain healthy. Mulches can be shop bought bark, your grass clippings, well-rotted compost or even newspaper or carboard. They all work in the same way. | ||
Use a watering can rather than a hosepipe or sprinkler for your lawn | It's better for your lawn to water it with a watering can with a rose head on it rather than a hosepipe or sprinkler. Hosepipes and sprinklers encourage shallow root growth. When the weather is dry and hot and the ground hard the water will simply lie on the surface and evaporate. It is best however to not water it at all. Grass will recover quickly after a period of drought. | ||
Water the rest of your garden with a watering can too! | If you direct a flow from a watering can at the roots of a wanted plant, it will thrive whilst the weeds around it wither and die. Plants do better with a deeper root run which is encouraged by watering with a can rather than a hosepipe. To encourage this even more sink a pipe into the soil next to much loved plants and water down that right to the roots. Not all plants need regular watering so check to see if the soil or compost is still damp, if it is don't water it yet. Some plants require less water than others. Use two cans when watering - one you are using and the other one you are filling up from your water butt, this saves you time and remember it's better to water well once a week than a little every day. If you use a watering can you can feed your plants with an organic plant feed at the same time. Always follow instructions. | ||
Install a water butt | Installing at least one water butt to collect rainwater is a good start to a well-watered garden and perfect if you want to create an eco-friendly garden. It is easy to do, and if your water is on a meter, it will save you a substantial sum. Butts come in a variety of sizes to suit almost any space. They save the rainwater from going down the drain and saves you from turning on the tap! | ||
For more water saving tips visit the Welsh water website Your not-for-profit water company | Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (dwrcymru.com)
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