The real dish on water
The not-so-obvious running tap
Where does all our water go?
Running down the drain
The 3 Rs of water use
Water-saving gardens
Websites that gush about water


The 3 Rs of water use

It’s time for a new version of the three Rs mantra:
Reduce! Repair! Retrofit!

Reduce the water you use each day in your home! Nearly 65% of all residential indoor water use occurs in the bathroom. (Bathing and showering account for about 35%, while toilets are responsible for about 30%.)

• Take a shower instead of a bath. Short showers use less water than baths. By minimizing the duration of your showers you’ll also reduce the amount of energy used to keep that water nice and hot.
  
  
• Water your lawn in the evening and use a soaker hose instead of a sprinkler. (If a particular plant needs more water, give it what it needs but don’t water the whole lawn.) Fifty percent of the water used on lawns is lost to evaporation or run-off due to over-watering. This is prime water that’s been brought up to drinking water standards only to be washed down the street.
  
  
• When you wash your car, fill a bucket and use a sponge before rinsing quickly with a hose. (By adding a spring-loaded nozzle, you won’t waste water when you aren't using the hose.) In Vancouver, the local water authority estimates that as much as  400 litres of water is used to wash a car.

Repair all leaky faucets and toilets. A leak of one drop per second results in about 10,000 litres of water lost over a year – the equivalent of 70 baths.

Retrofit by adapting or replacing older water-using appliances and devices with newer ones that are more efficient:

• Installing a low-flow showerhead costs as little as $20, and still does the job while reducing water flows by half.
  
  
• Replacing your toilet with an ultra low volume (ULV) model. Standard toilets in Canada use 18 litres of water per flush, while ULV toilets reduce the amount of water flushed by 70%. Also check out dual flush models which allow you to control the water required to flush. And see if your local water authority provides rebates for replacing your old toilets with water efficient models.
  
  
• If you’re thinking of purchasing or replacing a washing machine, buy a model with the Energy Star label. These washers use 35-50% less water and half the energy per load than a regular washer, which saves money on water and energy bills.

Next >> Water-saving gardens

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