Water is a precious resource and we should use it wisely at all times because it's not as abundant as you might think. Using water, especially hot water, also uses energy and increases emissions of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. During a drought situation it's even more important to make sure that water is used efficiently and not wasted.
The information below tells you why we should all make an effort to save water whenever possible and provides some top tips on how to achieve significant water savings in both your house and garden.
Did you know?
- The average person in England and Wales uses 150 litres of water a day. This is significantly more than comparable European countries such as Germany, Holland, Belgium and Denmark. By 2020, with increasing population and housing growth the demand for water could increase by 5% - that’s 800 million extra litres of water a day.
- Using hot water in our homes for personal and household washing, cooking and cleaning contributes around 35 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year (both water treatment processes and re-heating water in our homes contributes to these emissions). The average family uses 500 litres of water a day, that’s equal to 1.5 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.
- Future Water, the Government’s water strategy for England, outlines a vision for the average person to reduce the water they use by 20 litres per day (to 130 litres a day). View the links below to see how you can reduce both the water and energy you use:
Act on CO2
