With our population estimated to grow by a further 5 million people in the next 20 years and our personal daily usage almost doubling in the last 5 decades to 143 litres, the UK will need approximately 3,435 million litres of additional water by 2050.
Here are some water saving hints and tips to help you start your journey to a water-smart life.
Tip 1: Fix a dripping tap
Dripping taps may not seem as serious as a leak, however, if left unnoticed you could be wasting up to 5,500 litres of water a year – that is enough water to fill a paddling pool every week for a whole summer!
It is important to fix a dripping tap as soon as possible, not only for water saving but also to save money on your water bill.
Tip 2: Turn the tap off
Keeping the tap on whilst brushing teeth can waste up to 16 litres per brush, multiply that by each person in every household and that is a lot of unnecessary water wastage! Simple changes, like turning the tap off whilst brushing your teeth, may seem small, however, they can make the biggest impact on water saving.
If every adult in the UK turned off the tap whilst brushing their teeth, that would save enough water to fill 180 Olympic swimming pools every day!
tip 3: 5-minute showers!
Did you know, if everyone cut their showers by just one minute, this could save 12L of water with each use? Not only would this save a lot of water, but it will also save you money on your energy bills as you will not be engaging your boiler for longer than necessary.
Our top tip is to make a 5-minute shower playlist, when that has finished you know it is time to turn the shower off and get on with the day. You may not get as much shower karaoke time, but you will be helping our planet instead.
tip 4: Turn off the shower whilst lathering
Something that not a lot of people realise is whilst lathering our shampoo, we are wasting a huge amount of water by keeping the shower running. Our water saving tip is to turning off the water whilst shampooing our hair or lathering body wash, it could save you up to 150 gallons of water a month!
Tip 5: swap baths for showers
As luxurious as they are, taking regular baths instead of showers can almost double your average water usage. On average a bath uses around 80 litres of water, compared to a shower which uses 35 litres. It is time to reserve your soak in the tub for a once-a-week treat and switch to a quick shower for your daily routine, you could also swap your shower head for a water-efficient alternative for even bigger savings.
Tip 6: Fit a Dual-Flush Toilet
It is surprising how much water a toilet uses, and do not worry, we are not asking you to reduce your trips to the bathroom; however, fitting a dual flush system to your toilet can save 6L of water per short flush. That is a lot of water saved and more money back in your pocket.
Tip 7: fill the washing bowl
We all know that dreaded chore of washing up after dinner, and if you have not got a dishwasher it can be really tempting to wash up your pots under a running tap. However, just like when brushing your teeth, this wastes a large amount of unnecessary water. It may take a bit longer but filling up a bowl with soapy water will reduce your water usage considerably, it will also save on the washing up liquid!
Tip 8: Fit a Dual-Flush Toilet
It is surprising how much water a toilet uses, and do not worry, we are not asking you to reduce your trips to the bathroom; however, fitting a dual flush system to your toilet can save 6L of water per short flush. That is a lot of water saved and more money back in your pocket.