Why save water in the home?

This is what I used to think. After all, without being on a water meter we already pay such humongous amounts of Water Rate for our bit of water that saving it didn’t seem to make any sense. As well as this, the amount of rain we have had this year means that this area could probably start exporting water anytime soon. Actually, of course, there is a real point to saving water – to begin with the energy used to get our water from the reservoir to our taps is already high, and when the water is heated it uses lots more energy. There is a real point to saving hot water and heating energy. We already know about replacing baths with a 5 minute shower, but there are many other ways of cutting down on energy use when we use water. We know about filling up dishwashers and washing machines and using energy-saving programmes (though this can mean having more crockery and underwear to last until the next wash). I often forget about boiling only the minimum amount of water in the kettle – this also means you will have tea made with freshly boiled and not three-times boiled water. I also have real problems persuading other family members not to leave the tap running whilst brushing teeth, washing or shaving, or leaving taps running whilst rinsing plates or kitchen utensils or washing vegetables. The latter tasks should not be using hot water anyway, but a bowl with some cold water will work fine.