Water is a resource most of us take for granted. It’s understandable, as we’ve been extremely fortunate to be born in a place where access to clean drinking water has become something of a luxury.

But in many parts of the world, clean drinking water is hard to come by. In fact, 3.41 million people die from water, sanitation and hygiene-related causes each year. It’s why so much focus and investment is being placed into simple technologies to provide clean drinking water.

Financial backing of clean drinking water in developing regions is actually one of the best investments someone can make.

BluePlanetNetwork.org says: “For every $1 invested in water and sanitation, the United Nations Development Programme estimates a return of up to $9, depending on the region and technology.”

Clean drinking water transforms developing regions. It helps combat diseases, increases the productivity of the population and fosters a strong economy. Please make a contribution if you can.

Water Closer to Home

Knowing the importance of water, it’s important we do what we can to preserve this resource and use it responsibly. Treating water so that it is safe to drink, as we do in the UK, also uses energy and emits carbon emissions; so with this in mind, it’s vital we do what we can.

But first; some water facts for consideration:

  • The average person in England and Wales uses 150 litres of water a day. By 2020 the demand for water could increase by 800 million extra litres of water a day.
  • Most of this water is used for washing and toilet flushing, but it also includes drinking, cooking, car washing and watering the garden. We use almost 50 per cent more water than 25 years ago, partly because of power showers and household appliances.
  • Using water in our homes contributes around 35 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year. The average family uses 500 litres of water a day (due to some communal use of appliances). That’s equal to 1.5 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.
  • Future Water, the Government’s water strategy for England, outlines a vision for the average person to reduce the water they use by 20 litres per day to 130 litres a day.

Water Saving Tips

If we can each save 20 litres per day we will have stopped the constant rise in water usage, and cut the average quantity that each person uses from 150 litres per day to the European average of 130 litres. Twenty litres may seem a lot, but by doing just some of the tips below you can easily reach this target.

Make sure that everyone in your household knows about the tips and the target, and it won’t just be the environment you’ll be helping, but water and energy bills too.

16 Tips To Save Water In The Home:

  1. Take showers; not baths. A shower typically uses around 9 litres of water a minute. Typically we use 160 litres for a bath. We should try and keep our shower time down to under 5 minutes whenever possible as a simple way to make sure we don’t waste water. Low flow shower heads can use down to 6 or even 5 litres per min with no noticeable difference in flow.
  2. Fix dripping taps
  3. Don’t leave the tap running constantly when rinsing dishes
  4. Fill the kettle only with the water you’ll need
  5. Don’t leave the tap running constantly when washing food
  6. Choose water-efficient dishwashers or washing machine
  7. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth
  8. Take shorter, sharper showers
  9. Put a water-saving bag in the toilet cistern
  10. Fit a flow regulator or an aerated shower head
  11. Fit flow regulators or aerators to hand basin taps
  12. Use a watering can or a bucket and sponge, not a hosepipe
  13. Put a water butt in the garden
  14. Install a leak detector
  15. Insulate water pipes