Water is a very precious natural resource and people should do their best to conserve water where necessary for a sustainable future. People can save water by making smart choices at home. The Water Framework Directive is the EU environmental legislation which aims at improving our water environment and requires governments to promote conservation and personal responsibility for water use. To meet the requirements of this Statute instrument all water providers in Ireland are required to promote water conservation and introduce charges for excessive usage over the agreed allowance for householders. Outlined below are tips for consumers to help reduce your water consumption.
Water Conservation
Indoors
People should only use appliances that rely on water when those appliances are full. For example, a family should wait to use the dishwasher until it is completely loaded with dishes. Surprisingly, using the dishwasher uses less water than washing by hand.
When washing your hands and face put the plug in the sink as this uses less water than a running tap. Use a glass when brushing your teeth. Do not leave the tap running when brushing your teeth or shaving! A running tap will dispense 6 litres a minute.
Choose to have a shower instead of a bath. A 5 minute shower uses approximately 35 liters of water where a bath uses approximately 80 liters.
Older toilets use around five or six gallons of water every time they are flushed. If the toilet cannot be replaced, one way to save water is to insert a toilet cistern bag which will displace water, meaning less is needed. New models of toilets use around 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Some models also have a dual flush option, meaning more water is used only when necessary.
Outdoors
Learn how to check your water meter. Use a small diary to record the reading on the meter, documenting the date and time. This way you can divide the consumption by the number of days to find the daily demand. An average household usage is approx 500 liters per day.
Check all indoor and garden taps for leaks and drips. A dripping tap can waste 1,500 liters of water per year which can be saved by simply replacing a washer on the tape. Avoid the use of paddling pools and if you do use them, reuse the water in your garden.
Collect rainwater from your roof and down-pipes in a water butt or bucket and use it to wash your car and water your plants. Rainwater is more natural than piped water to use for watering your plants.
Washing your car with a hose typically uses 300 litres, which is equivalent to 33 buckets of water. If you must wash your car, use a bucket and sponge and wash it on the lawn!
Avoid using your hose to wash down your driveway or patio. Sweep up leaves instead. If you must wash the drive, use bucket or even better, do it when it’s raining!
Check you meter for leaks this is best done late at night or when the building is unoccupied by looking to see if the dials of the meter are turning when all appliances are off, if the are turning then you will know you have a problem. By doing this you will eliminate a large bill at the end of the year.
The farming community should always turn off the supply to out farms when livestock have been moved to housing for the winter months.
Know how to turn off your water supply. This could save thousands of litres of water and damage to your home in the event of a pipe burst.