water wastage

Did you know that a dripping tap – if it drips a single drip per second – could waste up to 30 litres of water per hour? Thirty litres of water is enough water to cook 15 packets of pasta in. It’s enough to wash a couple of children in. It’s terrifying the impact that such minor neglect, like not turning a bathroom tap off properly, can have on the environment. As a student living in digs, I am privy to a lot of water wastage and only recently learnt the positive impact that small changes around the house can have on the global water supply.

My digs has a pool – a beautiful, huge pool – and, from time to time, the water level drops to the extent that the pump makes an annoying gurgling sound. The solution is to fill the pool again. You would think this an easy task! On the contrary, the running tap is often forgotten and hundreds of litres of water are wasted filling the pool to dangerous levels. A simple cell phone reminder or note would solve this problem. Living in digs also means that everyone is cooking different meals and washing up dirty plates at different times. Each time a dinnertime comes around there are six people washing up in fresh sinks of warm water. Running one sink-full of water for everyone to use would solve this problem. Looking for easy ways to reduce our water usage not only helps out with the monthly water bill, but clears our consciences too!