Water Conservation

Below are ideas to help you save water around the home and in the garden - especially useful in the summer and when you are growing your own fruit and vegetables.

Keep it cool

Keep a bottle or jug of water in the fridge for those hot summer days – it saves you having to run the tap to get cold water.
Watering the garden

Water your garden with a watering can, it only uses a fraction of the water.

When watering the garden remember that a good soak every couple of weeks is better than a light watering every couple of days.

Don’t cut your grass so short – longer grass needs less water.

Check the forecast before doing a garden watering session incase there is rain forecast soon

Water your plants in the evening when the air has started to cool down as less water will be lost through evaporation

When watering hanging baskets, put a bucket underneath to collect excess water which can then be used to water another plant.

Water pot plants in saucers, it uses less water.

In a drought use bath water or water collected in a bucket whilst showering to water the garden (although if it contains soap or shampoo it might be best not to use it on any edibles!)
Storing Water

Install a water butt in the garden connecting it to your downpipes. The average UK roof can collect up to 85,000 litres of rainwater a year!

Mulch your plants and flowerbeds with bark or pebbles – they keep the soil protected from the sun helping to keep moisture in so you don’t need to water so much. As a bonus they also help prevent weeds!
Saving Water

A dripping tap can leak enough over a week to fill a bath, so always get leaks fixed.

Turn off the water tap when brushing your teeth – surprisingly it wastes up to 5 litres of water and sending to the atmosphere about 3kg of CO2 per year