Water conservation is crucial for addressing global water scarcity. Here are some effective water saving tips that can be easily implemented in households:

After air, water is an extremely essential element for the preservation of life. While 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, still nations across the world suffer from an acute water shortage. This scarcity can be felt not only in human consumption but also in agricultural and industrial sectors. Thus, saving water is the need of the hour as it an exhaustible natural resource.

There is a famous line, ‘water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’, in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, which can soon be a global reality if we do not take judicious efforts to conserve water. And since global warming and climate change are already posing new threats to flora and fauna diversity, conserving water has become extremely important. So, in order to ensure its sufficiency, we need to utilize water with more consideration so as to limit the wastage of water.

The only solution to avoid the grim situation of water scarcity, is to adopt universal methods of water conservation, which could be replicated across households.

6 water saving tips:

Water conservation can be done anywhere and in any form. Here are different water conservation methods where major savings can be done, without much hassle. Here are some of the easiest and quickest ways to conserve water:

1. Rainwater harvesting

One of the most constructive and easy ways of conserving water is rainwater harvesting system. You can install a rooftop rainwater harvesting (RRH) system at your house or apartment complex. And this can be done at an initial level by keeping big containers like drums on the terrace to collect rainwater. Then place a cloth on the containers inorder to filter out impurities. You can even attach these systems to storage tanks supplying water through pipes to taps. If not drinking, then you can use the water for other activities like washing cars in the building, toilet flush, washing utensils, and gardening.

2. Install a water-saving toilet flush system

This can be one of the excellent tips to save water! How and why, you may ask! Flushing toilets if one of the largest sources of domestic water wastage. According to several reports, old toilets are estimated to use almost 5 to 7 gallons of water per flush. Thus, converting your toilets into low-flush ones, you can save up to almost 700 litres of water each year.

You can consider installing a dual flush converter in your bathroom which will reduce the flush water amount by nearly 70 per cent. The dual flush systems have two mechanisms which gives you the option to use only the required amount of water. You can also reduce usage by sinking a half gallon jug of water in the toilet tank. You can retrofit your flush tank with something that will reduce the amount of water stored in the flush tank, such as a plastic bottle filled with water and pebbles/marbles.

Also dispose off the tissues, cigarettes and other waste into a dustbin instead of flushing into the toilets.

3. Repair leaking taps, pipes and toilets

On an average, about 38 litres a day or approximately 14 per cent of a household’s water footprint is wasted through leaks. This is the reason checking and repairing leaking taps, pipes and toilets is one of the easiest and most effective ways to resuce water wastage at home. And until the leakage is fixed, place a bucket to collect the water.

One of the best ways to check for leakage is by placing liquid blue dye/tablets or adding a bit of food colouring into your flush tank. If the colour appears in the toilet bowl without flushing one hour later, it means your toilet is leaking and needs fixing.

4. Quick shower

Are you someone who enjoys long showers? If yes, then let us tell you that on an average, an individual might be wasting 17 gallons of water per shower, a research has found.

Thus, one of the best methods of conservation of water is by cutting down long showers and instead use a bucket of water and a mug. But if you do not prefer that option, you can even cut the shower short just to five minutes or less as it not only help you save water but also your time. You can even save more water when you soap up, wash and rinse off by turning off the water till then.

Other options also include inserting a regulator in your shower to put a limit on flow rates or replacing your shower-head with a low-flow-shower-head.

5. Turn off tap while brushing teeth, shaving and washing hands, clothes and utensils

How many times have you left the tap running while brushing your teeth or washing your hands or while shaving or washing utensils and clothes? A lot of times may be, isn’t it? Thus, if you want to conserve water, then this is one of the most basic water-saving ideas that you need to put in practice.

Before brushing, turn it on only when you have to wet your tootbrush and just fill a glass to rinse out your mouth. By doing this, you can save 3 gallons of water per day.

Secondly, if you have to wash dishes then wait until the sink is full and then wash them all at once instead of washing them one-by-one under a running tap. In case of a dishwasher, don’t run it until it’s full as it wastes water and electricity.

Similarly, for machine washing, a full load of laundry is a water-efficient choice as an automatic washing machine consumes 30 -35 gallons of water per load. Thus, wait until you have enough clothes that need washing. For hand-washing, using less amount of detergent will require less water for rinsing.

Turning off the tap while washing clothes and dishes will save more than 50 litres of water per day.

6. Water your plants in the morning

As temperatures are cooler in the morning, water your plants in the morning to minimize evaporation. Since winds are less intense during that time, it will also help in most of the water reaching the plants and also mean that they would lose less water during evaporation. Also, avoid watering plants in the evening as it can promote mold growth.

You can even up-cycle plastic bottles to make a DIY ( Do It Yourself) drip irrigator or a soda bottle sprinkler to provide moisture directly to plant roots. It is also considered one of the highly efficient watering systems.

For more such informative articles, visit our sustainability blog page.