How to Save Water
Water is a precious natural resource that is often taken for granted. The Greater Dublin Region consumes 110 million gallons (500MI) of drinking water per day. This puts an enormous strain on the water supply to meet an ever-increasing demand. To help you ease the strain and save this precious resource, here are a few tips on how to save water around your home, office or school.
Water Conservation in Schools
On the 19th November 2007 Dublin City Council gave all schools in Dublin City a present of a water butt to collect rain water for use in school gardens and free “hippo bags” to put in toilet cisterns that will automatically reduce the amount of water used with each flush. It’s part of the City Council’s ‘Conserve Water in Schools’ campaign, launched by Mr John Gormley, TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Conserve Water in Schools Resource Pack shows children how they can get involved in conserving water and put a stop to water wastage in their schools. The school pack shows children how to audit the amount of water used in their school and how to devise a plan of action to reduce water usage and to stop wastage. Action sheets in the pack encourage pupils to keep up their good water conservation habits and show them how to monitor and evaluate their own school’s Plan of Action on an ongoing basis. All schools everywhere can get involved by downloading the schools’ pack from www.dublincity.ie
The Bathroom & Toilet
.jpg "Tap")
The Dublin Community Forum Environmental Focus Group suggests not leaving the tap running while you brush your teeth. Do you know how much water you save by turning off the tap whilst washing your teeth? One drop of water per second can waste more than 25 litres of water a day! Try measuring how much you save.
The City of Dublin Energy Management Agency suggests taking a shower instead of a bath. According to CODEMA, taking a 5-minute shower uses only a quarter/half of the water nee 
ded to take a bath. Typically, a bath uses 100 litres of water, whereas a 5-minute high-pressure shower uses 50 litres and a 5-minute low-pressure shower uses 25 litres. Due to the energy required to heat the water, this also translates directly into a corresponding saving in the heating bill. Make your shower even more water efficient by fitting a low-flow showerhead, which maximises water coverage and minimises the water used.
The Environmental Protection Agency suggests putting a plastic bottle of water in the toilet cistern to cut down the water you use.
The Garden
The Greenplumbers in Australia suggest not cutting the lawn shorter than 2cm. They also suggest mulching your gardens as this can save up to 70% of water lost through evaporation and help improve your soil's condition. Other top tips are to watch your sprinklers as a forgotten sprinkler can waste 1000 litres of water per hour (especially if water is spilled on the pavement), and to invest in a garden irrigation system if you need to water a lot.
ENFO suggests watering during the cooler periods of the day, early morning or late evening, to help reduce water loss through evaporation. It also suggests collecting rainwater in a barrel to water your garden.
The Kitchen and Laundry
CODEMA recommends buying a water efficient dishwasher and washing machine. Watch out for the new 'Water Conservation labels' that now feature on dishwashers and washing machines.
The Ecologist suggests to only use a washing machine when you have a full load.
