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. 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.