Conserving water in buildings

How to save water through a variety of water efficiency measures.

• Conserving water in buildings (Adobe PDF 0.71MB)

  Shows you how to reduce the amount of water you use, not only saving water and the natural environment but also saving money (if you are metered), whether at home or at work.

• Toilets

  An average household with a nine litre toilet flushes 30 per cent of their total water consumption down the pan.

• Urinals

  Uncontrolled urinal flushing can easily account for most of the water used in public and commercial buildings. Fitting flush controllers or waterless urinals overcomes this problem.

• Showers and baths

  In new houses showers and baths account for around 45 per cent of the total water used.

• Domestic appliances

  Consider water and energy efficiency when buying new. Look for the energy label, which also contains water consumption information.

• Taps

  Spray taps on handbasins typically save up to 80 per cent of the water and energy used for hand washing.

• Gardening

  In the UK it is possible to have a beautiful and productive garden without using mains water

• Reusing greywater and harvesting rainwater

  Find out how you can reuse greywater and rainwater for garden watering and toilet flushing

• Detecting leaks and metering

  As well as saving water, flow regulation offers additional benefits, such as helping to balance the available pressure throughout the system.

• Plumbing and heating system design

  By carefully planning a building's plumbing system, both water and energy savings can be made.