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Most
Precious Resource | Water
facts | How to gain from rain
| Saving the World | Drought
protection | Reduce your water
use
Reduce your water use
Even if you install a rainwater harvesting system, this
should not stop you trying to reduce your water use:
In the garden
• Use a drip or trickle system directed to specific
plants rather than a sprinkler : a sprinkler uses 1000
litres an hour whereas a 100m length drip system uses on
average 55 litres an hour
• Use a timer
• Never water in the heat of the day: evaporation will
reduce the moisture rapidly, and the plant may even be
worse off
• Put as much compost or mulch as possible round the
base of plants to conserve moisture
• When planting shrubs and fruit trees, put a 30 to 40
cms length of hosepipe into the ground next to stem so
that when watered down hose, moisture reaches roots
• For smaller plants and vegetables, dig in a small
flower pot next to them which allows water in it to
percolate slowly down to roots
• Round any plant, shrub or young tree, build up a
shallow circular ditch round stem, so that water will
stay rather than flow away at once. This is particularly
necessary on slopes
• Gently break any hard soil surface round a plant
(taking great care not to disturb roots), so that water
can get in
• Cut lawns less frequently and with a higher blade in
dry conditions. And remember that however brown it
looks, it will recover. Resist the temptation to use a
sprinkler!
In the house
• Have a shower instead of a bath, and use 33 litres
(for a 5 min shower) rather than 100 litres. Watch out
for power showers though: nearly 100 litres for 5 mins!)
• WCs, Toilets, Loos. Old WCs use @ 9 litres per flush. Put plastic
bottle in cistern to reduce flush volume. New dual flush
WCs use 4 or 2.5 litres per flush
• Don't leave taps running: 5 to 10 litres a minute can
vanish in a minute while you wash your teeth or rinse
fruit.
• Replace worn washers: a dripping tap can waste 4
litres a day.
• Think before you turn on the hot tap: a litre or 2 can
flow away while you're waiting for the hotwater to come
through.
• And a hint that's a pleasure to follow! Fully load a
dishwasher rather than wash by hand.
Here's a company that is trying hard to introduce ECO showers to help save water.
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