Every drop counts - Water Saving Week (From This is The West Country)

Every drop counts - Water Saving Week

7:30pm Thursday 16th July 2009

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HOUSEHOLDERS in the Yeovil area can mark Water Saving Week simply by thinking twice about what they do with the water they use.

The Consumer Council for Water is hoping people will look seriously at their use of water during the special week running from July 17-23.

People each use on average around 150 litres of water per day and every drop that is supplied to a home is treated to drinking water quality standards - even though some of that water used is for flushing the toilet or watering the garden.

Water is heavy, and a lot of energy goes into cleaning it, and especially pumping it to our homes.

Thinking twice about the way we use water can help make a difference not only to the environment that we take water from, but also to our overall carbon footprint.

Some simple steps to avoid wasting water include: · Replacing worn washers on leaky taps. A dripping tap can, in one week, waste enough water to fill half a bath.

· Taking a five minute shower instead of a bath, or going one step further and installing a water saving shower head.

· Making sure that the dishwasher or washing machine is full before turning it on. Half-load cycles can use much more than half the water of a full load. · Around a third of the water we use goes straight down the loo, so using a water displacement device, such as a hippo, can help save water with every flush.

These are available for free from most sewerage companies. Or, for an easy, do it yourself option, fill an empty plastic bottle with water and place it in the cistern.

· Take advantage of wet weather by installing a water butt, which collects rain water from a down pipe running from the roof, shed or greenhouse, and use the collected rainwater for gardening and washing the car, instead of paying to use drinking quality water through a hosepipe.

Chairman of the Consumer Council for Water, Dame Yve Buckland, said: "We can all do our part by recognising that water is a valuable resource, and keeping in mind these simple steps to avoid wasting it.”

A full list of water saving tips is available by clicking on the link in our "related articles" section.

Ends

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