Saving Water in the home and garden

Quick Facts:

• We use 70% more water than we did 30 years ago.

• The average person in Britain uses 150 litres of water a day.

• 500 rivers, lakes and wetlands in England are at risk of damage from excessive water withdrawals.

• The UK is one of the last European countries without universal water metering.

Why save water?
As a society we need to start using water more effectively. We now use 70% more water than we did 30 years ago and as the climate changes and the population grows this will not be sustainable.

At the moment, from a social point of view, a shortage of water is inconvenient, a drought order means that you can’t use water for non essential activities, so no watering the garden or washing the car. In the future it may have more serious consequences, if an emergency drought order is implemented water supplies to homes could be shut off and standpipes set up in streets or water could be rationed at certain times of day.

Water shortages also cause environmental problems; when groundwater and reservoir supplies are low water companies can apply for drought permits allowing them to take more water from our rivers. If water levels in the rivers get too low the flora and fauna suffer, wetland birds and other wildlife that rely on ponds, rivers and streams struggle to survive. Sources of food and breeding sites for wildlife can be lost and fish can suffocate through lack of oxygen.

At the moment the average person in Britain uses 150 litres of water a day. To help preserve our precious resource we don’t need to alter our daily activities dramatically; if everyone makes a few small changes every day then we can dramatically reduce the amount of water we use each day.