Using Less Water: What Aussie Homes Need To Know

By Author: Adam Petford
Total Articles: 5
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With more and more droughts and water restrictions, and reservoirs getting alarmingly low, Aussies are increasingly thinking about what we can do to make a difference in the face of a looming freshwater crisis. We’re one of the world’s driest continents, with a whole lot of desert (the name of the Great Sandy Desert is apt: it’s huge, and there’s not much there but sand!) Water and land management have become hot topics not just in boardrooms and Parliament, but in our homes as well. Climate change is making the world hotter, and the population is growwing, meaning we have to make do with less per-capita water. But the good news is, there’s things we can do even individually to make incremental difference.

To reduce your mains water usage, keep in mind these important water-saving tips.

1. Don’t leave your taps running.

Do you leave the tap running while you’re washing your dishes, showering or brushing your teeth? Breaking this habit can make a difference in the long run. Turn off that tap!

2. Collect grey water from your shower.

A lot of water goes down the drain while you’re ...
... in the shower, and your shower takes a while to heat up in the first place. So many people will shower with a bucket, and catch and reuse in their garden the cold water that has to flow before your water flow is warm enough to shower. You can even use it to “bucket flush” your toilet!

3. Selective flushing.

If it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown, flush it down! Selective flushing means that if you’ve only gone Number 1, you don’t flush. Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone is even a selective flushing advocate!

4. Check for leaky pipes and taps.

Don’t leave your tap leaking! As the QLD Govt reminds us here, one slowly dripping tap can waste 9,000 litres of water a year, while a visibly leaking toilet can waste more than 60,000 litres. And in 2014, WA found it had been losing 30 billion litres of water a year due to leaky pipes. Yikes!

It’s relatively easy to tell when a shower or toilet are leaking, but when it comes to pipes, it’s not so immediately obvious. If it’s a smaller leak, your water bill might not spike enough to make it obvious. But there’s an easy trick you can do at home: go to your water meter, check the number it’s registered, turn all the taps off in your home for an hour, and check the number again after an hour. If the numbers have changed, you may have a leak.

Talk to your local plumber about an extensive inspection and repair; sometimes the leaky pipe can be deep inside your home, or around the pool, etc. This doesn’t just waste water, it can even be damaging to your property.

4. Install a water tank.

Rainwater harvesting has actually part of life in Australia for millenia, with First Nations people living in this arid land carefully managing water resources. With our growing problems in water management, making careful use of the resources we do have is key, and harvesting nature’s bounty in the form of rainwater can make a huge difference.

Companies like Select Water Tanks manufacture and supply slimline water tanks and round water tanks for homes and businesses. These tanks work by diverting rainwater from your roof to the tank using downspouts; well-constructed tanks made of of quality materials can last for decades to come. And this doesn’t just reduce your environmental impact, it also significantly reduces your water bill now and long into the future.