Tip: If like me, you collect rain water from your drainpipes, fasten an old pair of tights to the bottom of the pipe before it goes into the butt. This will collect any debris and stop them clogging up the butt.
Fact: A dripping tap can waste as much as 5000 litre of water a year, so what are you waiting for, get that tap fixed.

When I suggest tips on saving water, I am often met with comments such as ‘but it’s always raining’ or ‘the world is made up of   % water’. So I have decided to dedicate this issue to reducing water wastage. And that is the point; reduce water wastage, not restricting water use.

Why
The UK has less water available per person than most other European countries, and the  South East of England even has less water available per person than Sudan.
The UK is experiencing water shortages, and if people continue to use water in the same way, i.e. wasting as much as they use, it will put a huge strain on resources, and could lead to water stress in the future.
With a change in climate and a growth in population there will come a reduction in water available per person. It is therefore necessary to act now and adapt our behaviours so we no longer waste water.
The average UK citizen uses 150 litres of water each day for, cooking, cleaning, washing and flushing. This figure is not a constant, it has increased on average one percent every year for the past 80 years. We need to make a start on decreasing it.

Yes the water cycle is continuous and rain will replace water that has been abstracted for use in the home, however there is no guarantee where or when the rain will fall, and with climate change becoming more drastic and unpredictable we can not be sure that we will be able to keep up with the demand in times to come. There has already been a significant reduction in water availability shown by the lowest rainfall, groundwater and reservoir levels for decades.

Other benefits
Saving water has many other benefits. If you are on a water metre you will save money on your water bills. If you reduce your hot water consumption you will also save money on your energy bills.
Staggeringly, the energy used to pump, treat and heat water in the average family home, is enough to fly from London to New York and back again. There is something to think about the next time you leave the hot water running!

What you can do
As previously mentioned in an earlier article, when purchasing new products, always go for the energy efficient ones. This also relates to their water consumption.
Another action previously mentioned is turning the tap off when brushing your teeth, which can save six litres of water a minute.
Do not use the toilet to dispose of cotton wool, face wipes and other pieces of rubbish, place them in the bin instead. If everyone stopped doing this, the UK would save 27 million litres of water a week.
Do not tip water down the drain, just because you consider it to be waste. Use water that washed the spuds to water your plants. This also goes for left over water from the night before.
If you do have a garden then installing a water butt will be such an investment. Simply connect it to your drainpipe to collect rainwater, which can be as much as 85000 litres every year. The water can also be used to clean the car, porch or windows.
If you do not have a dual flush toilet, you can install a cistern displacement device. They can usually be obtained from your water company free of charge. They reduce the amount of water used in each flush.

If you would like to go one step further…
Just consider all the water that has gone into making your products. The amount of water needed to help our food grow, the amount of water need in the production of clothes and other material things. For example it takes 1350 litres of water to produce 1kg of wheat.