How to Consume Water Sustainably

 Water is an important renewable resource that many living organisms, including our-selves, depend on to survive and make a living. With the Earth being mostly water, it seems like there is enough to go around, but it might one day become scarce. Consuming water sustainably is an important step to save water and the planet. Here we look at ways that you can conserve water for a more sustainable living. 

Why Saving Water is Important

According to WWF, the Earth is about 70% water, which is more than 326 million trillion gallons of water to put it into perspective. That might seem a lot, however less than 3% of this water is the fresh water that we can consume on a daily basis. Still might seem like a lot of water but imagine your water consumption multiplied by the growing population of almost 8 billion people.

Since water is abundant and is a renewable resource, which means that water is natural and can be replenished after time, you might be wondering why save water? But one day water might become scarce, so conserving water now can prevent this from happening. Water quite literally makes the world go round from our daily activities like bathing, drinking, cleaning or cooking, to agriculture, industries, electricity, and even providing a living for both animals and plants. Meaning that if we run out or water becomes scarce, our planet will suffer and organisms will start dying, so doing your bit in saving water can save our home.

You should save water because your own life is depending on it, and recently with the growing population on Earth, we are using up our number of resources that our planet can renew in a year. This is called Earth Overshoot Day. It differs every year, but it means that we are using our resources faster than we can renew them, this includes water. With climate change and our mass resource use, it can all add up and cause destructive consequences. Living a sustainable life means that we can MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day, thus cutting our carbon footprint and saving our planet.

Turn Off Your Taps

It may not seem like much but turning off the taps while you’re not using it while brushing your teeth, shaving, or putting soap on your hands can save about 6 litres of water a minute. Saving water this way can rack up to 4-5 gallons on average, which is what a whole family in Africa uses a day. Even as much as fixing a leaky tap can save you money on your water bill and stop a potential 60 litres from going down the drain

Reducing Time in The Shower

Personal hygiene and being clean is important, however, every minute that you may spend in the shower can use up to 17 litres of water! To save water, try to take shorter showers, or opt for a bath instead, since these often use less water than a shower anyway. Or, if long showers are your thing, try installing a low-flow shower head, these have less water pressure, and therefore less water flow. Another way you can save water when showering is to shower or bathe less frequently. Now, we’re not saying ditch being clean, however if you shower every day, try to cut it down to every other day or every 3 days instead. Showering everyday isn’t just bad for the water use, but it can also be damaging to your skin and hair

Saving Up Your Laundry

Although it is convenient to just wash an outfit that you wanted to wear, washing your laundry when it isn’t a full load can waste a ton of water and electricity. Per cycle, your washing machine can use a big 10-15 gallons of water on average. So, to save water, save your dirty clothes and wash when you have a full load, as this uses less energy and water than two half-loads. Other eco tips for your washing machine include washing clothes at colder temperatures, washing your clothes less (i.e., don’t wash that shirt you wore for 5 mins – promise you it’s still clean), and even choosing the eco wash setting your washing machine may have.

Let the Dishwasher Do It for You

Washing dishes is something we all do and use water for, but this can be a waste of water if you are washing a single plate or bowl. Yeah, no one likes to see the dirty dishes pile up and take up space in the kitchen. If you have a dishwasher, fill it up completely and each time you run it you’re conserving water than if you did the dishes. But, like laundry, only run the dishwasher if you have a full load, otherwise you end up wasting more water. If you don’t have a dishwasher, letting the dishes soak in the sink or in a washing-up bowl is a good way to save water than just letting the water run.

Invest in A Reduce Flushing Toilet

Something we don’t really think about is how many times we go to the toilet and how many times we flush. In the UK, the average household flushes the toilet 5,000 times a year and takes up a total 30% of all water used at home. An easy way to conserve water here is to invest or update your toilet to have a reduce flush, also called dual flush toilets. These have a split flush button that gives you the choice of how much water to use when flushing and uses half the litres of water, from 13 litres per flush to 4-6! Another way to save water in your toilet, like taps, if there are leaks or drips to contact a plumber and fix it, saves you money as well.

Boil and Use What You Need

This might be an obvious point, but a way to consume water sustainably is to only use what you need. If you get a glass of water, don’t take a sip and pour the rest, that wastes water. And overtime can accumulate for gallons of water just poured away and not used. So, use what you need, and if you don’t want the rest don’t just dump it, save it to one side for later.

The same thing can be said when boiling water, this way you can save water, energy, and money by only boiling as much as you need. Take a look at our hot and cold dispensers range.

If you’re cooking, you can steam your vegetables instead of boiling them, this cuts water usage even more. But, if you are boiling your food, try to use the leftover water for stock for soups, or let it cool and reuse the water for plants.

Reduce food waste

You might not think of water usage when it comes to food, however, it takes a lot of water to produce the foods you eat, from cereals, fruits, vegetables, beloved meals, desserts, and more. And because of the massive population, it takes a whopping 52.8 million gallons of water a second to produce enough food for us all. And as much as 2 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year. In fact, more than half of the 7 million tonnes of food and drink being thrown out in UK households can still be eaten. Causing not only a massive waste of food, but water too. There are lots of ways you can be more sustainable with your water by combating the war on waste, Love Food Hate Waste has tons of ideas, including hacks to make your food last longer, how to store leftovers, and more.

Try Eating Less Meat and Dairy

As well as not wasting the food you eat; you can also try to change your diet to be more sustainable. The meat and diary industry requires the most water to produce, from water for the animal’s food and drinks, to the water and space for the land, and the overall meat production process. Eating less meat and dairy not only reduces the amount of water intake but reduces your carbon footprint and helps to protect the climate, as they are the biggest contributors to global warming. Although you don’t have to commit to a full vegetarian or vegan diet, reducing how much meat you eat has a positive effect on, the environment and your health!

Make Gardening Sustainable

If you love gardening or a plant parent, there are a lot of ways to water your plans or tend to your lawn and conserve water. Try watering the soil so it goes straight to the roots, and water them in the early morning or at the end of the day when the sun isn’t at full beam, this is so the water doesn’t evaporate, and you don’t have to rewater later. Another great way to save water when gardening is to catch rainwater and use it to water your plants. If you have sprinklers, make sure that you’re not wasting water by having it spray on the pavement, and even better, if you ditch the sprinkler, you can cut water costs by manually watering your plants. You can also always reuse water that you use in the house to water and care for your plants.

Put Pressure on Companies and The Government

One final way that you can not only consume water sustainably but help to save water, is to be active in the community and your country. Companies, industries, and factories are big contributors to water waste. And governments around the world are listening to the people to do their part in saving water and preventing water pollution. Governments measure water use, make laws so that companies and manage their water use, encourage ways that both customers and industries can save water through products, lifestyle changes, and even prevention of pollution. Joining a Climate Action group gets you involved in your community to drive change locally and nationally so we can all save the planet, use and consume water sustainably.