Many people wander why reducing our water usage is such an important issue. Particularly as England is notorious for it's rainy climate. However, most people will be surprised to learn that some parts of the UK are experiencing water shortages. The key part to remember is that people should not start restricting their enjoyment of water. Due to the fact that we use domestic appliances on a regular basis, we do not realise how much water we end up wasting in the process. However, there are steps that can be taken to not waste water.

An average person in the UK uses 150 litres of water everyday. This is used up in cooking, washing, toilet flushing, and watering the garden. Apparently we are using 50% more water than 25 years ago due to the increased use in domestic appliances around the house. It is important that we start taking steps now, otherwise the effects of climate change will have long term consequences on our water usage.

What can we do to save water?

You should turn the tap off when brushing your teeth - Many of us do not really think about how much water we are wasting when leaving the tap running. You should note that every time you leave the tap on you are wasting 6 litres of water per minute

Flushing the loo for unnecessary items- You should note that flushing the toilet accounts for about a third of household water usage. Therefore you will save on a lot of water if you do not use it to flush items such as cotton wool and face wipes as these items can be disposed off in a rubbish bin. You may be surprised to learn that if people stopped flushing down items that can be easily thrown away in a rubbish bin, we would save about 27 millions litres of water a week

Have a shower instead of a bath - Taking a shower instead of taking a bath will save on water usage. It has been estimated that that a bath uses around 80 litres of water in comparison to a shower which use around 30 litres of water. Please note that this does not apply to power showers which use up more water than regular showers

You can save water in the garden - Using a watering can rather than a hose will be very useful in saving water. Another useful point to note is that rain water is better for plants than tap water. It would be advisable for you to buy a water butt to collect the rain water for the garden

Domestic appliances in the home - The modern dishwashers and washing machines are more up to date on energy saving. You should take advantage of this and invest in an appliance that comes with an energy label. Also, doing a full load when using the dishwasher or washing machine will assist you in saving energy