Water Wise

Water is essential to life and to our daily lives. We use it to cook, to clean, to keep our lawns and gardens green and growing, and for a dozen other uses everyday. And that adds up to a lot of water.

In fact, compared to Europeans, we use more than twice as much water.

Each of us uses about 335 litres* of water each day. Of that, 30% is flushed down the toilet. Another 35% is used in showers and baths. Clothes washing takes about 20%. Another 10% is used in the kitchen for drinking, food preparation and dish washing. And, 5% goes for general cleaning around the house. 

When summer rolls around, and it's time to water the lawn and wash the car, household water use can increase by 50% or more!

Whenever we use water, there's a potential for water savings. This guide will illustrate where and how you can use water more wisely both inside and outside the home.

Following the three golden rules of water conservation – reduce, repair, and retrofit – we can easily cut our water use nearly in half.

Reduce

It's surprising how much water gets wasted. We just let it run down the drain. Become conscious of the amount of water you're using and look for ways to use less whenever you can.

Repair

A leak of one drop per second wastes 10 000 litres of water a year. Most leaks are simple to find and easily fixed, at low or no cost.

Retrofit

Retrofit means adapting or replacing an older, less water efficient fixture or appliance with one of the many water saving devices now on the market.

* based on 2001 statistics.

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