1. Reducing the use of tap water
Why?
Tap water is precious! Our tap water is sourced from reservoirs, piped to water works and treated to a high standard to be safe for drinking before being pumped back to our taps. Yet we use it to wash cars, water gardens, flush toilets and often run it to waste. Only a very small percentage of the 130 litres a day we each use is actually used for drinking. If we use less, we save money, have enough supply to cope with droughts and we leave more water in our becks and rivers to benefit fish and other aquatic wildlife. There is a government target to reduce per capita consumption to 110 litres per day by 2050.
How?
If you don’t have one already ask Yorkshire Water to install a water meter for you (see https://www.yorkshirewater.com/bill-account/water-meters/request-a-meter/ ). Nationally on average metered households use 30% less water than unmetered properties.- Check your water meter readings to work out how many litres of water you use per person per day.
- Check out how much water you use for different purposes (see https://www.ccw.org.uk/save-money-and-water/averagewateruse/ )
- Check out top tips for saving water in the home. Take a look at the WWF website https://www.wwf.org.uk/what-can-i-do/top-ten-water-saving-tips)
- Collect rainwater in water butts and use for watering the garden and if necessary topping up ponds. Indeed rainwater is more suitable for these purposes than tap water
- Fix dripping taps and shower heads in your home promptly and report any leaks of main water in the street or when you’re out and about to Yorkshire Water here: https://www.yorkshirewater.com/get-in-touch/get-in-touch-about-a-leak/. Water companies are also required to reduce leakage.
