How do you save water?

Mikaela on 11/07/2014 - 16:10

Hi Ozbargain community. Thought I would start this thread so that Ozbargainers can share their tips for saving water and ultimately help in reducing their water bill and thus saving money. As a 22 year old I have learnt some tips (from my parents who are also very water conscious) but am always up for learning more! These are some of the tips I use to save water.

On average I have 4 minute showers but admittedly it’s hard when I need to shave so those showers may stretch out to 6 minutes. I wash my hair every 2 days (that’s all I need for my hair) and I only shower once a day except when I have been doing vigorous exercise. Then I shower twice a day, but the second shower is literally only 1 – 2 minutes just to wash and soap the sweat away. I have just joined a gym so lately after my workout I have been using the gym showers and I plan to use them to shave as well.

I don’t own a dishwasher so I wash all my dishes etc. by hand and as a result use a minimal amount of water. It’s surprising how much water is conserved this way. I know dishwashers are more convenient for most people but this way works for me. Even when I stay in hotels I don’t use their dishwasher.

When cooking pasta, potatoes etc. I don’t overfill the saucepan. I put just enough water in the saucepan to cook my food effectively. I have seen my friends fill their saucepans up way too much and thus waste a lot of water. If you do this every day the wasted water adds up.

I never leave the tap running or dripping while I am brushing my teeth. I have a normal sized cup in the bathroom and I fill it up once before I brush my teeth and then use that water to rinse out my mouth and wash away the spit.

I only do a load of washing when the majority of my clothes need a wash so basically I only do a load of washing when I have close to a full load, or a full load. I use a shorter cycle which still washes my clothes thoroughly. I have found that the longer the cycle is on my machine, the more water it uses hence why I use a shorter cycle.

My toilet isn’t the most water efficient as it’s quite old. But it does have a dual flush so I use that.

I don’t really water the garden. I rely on nature for that and so far it’s working out. But I do keep a bucket in the shower and when that fills up I use that water to water the pot plants.

That’s all I can think of at the moment.

For a family of three people our water bills are quite low. On average our water bill per quarter is $220 which is significantly lower than other people in our area. Our water bill comes with a graph that shows this. We don’t have any water tanks installed either.

So please share your tips and ideas!

Home & Garden

Comments

  • tonyjzx on 11/07/2014 - 16:21
    +25

    i actually dont think saving water is going to make such a big deal to your wallet

    saving power is another thing

    • Shadowsfury on 11/07/2014 - 16:36
      +13

      +1

      While on holidays my bills have been as skewed as $220 fixed charges, $1 in usage.

      Not really much incentive to save.

    • Mikaela on 11/07/2014 - 17:08
      +3

      I agree that saving power is also a great idea to reduce costs. Our power bills are also really low. However our water bills used to be way higher until we started consciously saving water and now they are quite low. Just thought I would make this thread to share my tips as someone out there may find them useful and it may help them out and also thought if other people wanted to share their tips as well

  • niknah on 11/07/2014 - 18:55
    +3

    For the washing, I use a front loader. A lot less water and detergent needed.

    In the shower I…

    • turn on the water to get wet.
    • turn off and soap.
    • turn it back on to wipe the soap off.

    I find that a lot of water is wasted waiting for the hot water to go through the pipes.
    The best way is to use a bucket with water, like you do when camping.

    It's actually good to not rinse the mouth after brushing. The remaining fluoride helps protect the teeth, but that's if you have no food left over after spitting.

    Getting the water level right in the saucepan also helps with the electricity and time cause it'll take a lot less time to heat up.

    I live in an apartment and the water is a fixed cost so the bill doesn't really matter. If you waste water you'll eventually have to pay for it in tax when they have to build desalination plants, etc.

    • MustResistPurchase on 11/07/2014 - 19:38
      -1

      Why would you go to that extent when it's a fixed cost?

      • tonyjzx on 11/07/2014 - 21:31

        you do know that the desalination plants are already here

    • Hoju on 12/07/2014 - 08:04
      +7

      This is good common sense water conservation practice. Why waste something that, particularly in Australia, is such a precious resource, regardless of cost. Good on you man.

  • ihbh on 11/07/2014 - 21:21
    +10

    Urinate in the garden (not directly on plants) - it's also good for them.

    • hahaboy on 15/07/2014 - 10:04
      +3

      if only my backyard was structured where all bmy neighbours couldn't see.

    • pascal03 on 17/07/2014 - 10:12
      +3

      Isn't urine full of sodium?

      Plants die from too much salt right?

  • StewBalls on 11/07/2014 - 23:08

    No need for showers, a nice sand scrub can be quite bracing! :p

  • Boshait on 12/07/2014 - 00:34
    +6

    When cooking pasta, potatoes etc. I don’t overfill the saucepan. I put just enough water in the saucepan to cook my food effectively. I have seen my friends fill their saucepans up way too much and thus waste a lot of water. If you do this every day the wasted water adds up.

    My 88 year old mother keeps that water and uses it as a stock for making soup.

    • hahaboy on 15/07/2014 - 10:05

      Smart. It would have a lot of starch in the water, which would thicken up the stock.

  • 729fx on 12/07/2014 - 02:01
    +1

    In WA, water usage costs are around $1.50/kL so you wouldn't save very much money per year I wouldn't think.

    That said, you are doing a great service to the environment! :)

    • Boshait on 12/07/2014 - 09:31
      +1

      Correct, unless you are supporting a large garden, trying to save water is financially pointless. When I lived in a flat my water usage bill was under $10 a quarter.

      It's really about conformism and "greenier than thou".

      • tonyjzx on 12/07/2014 - 10:23
        +1

        yeah i agree

        you live in australia

        if you want a longer shower, take it

        unless you derive some pleasure from doing without

      • Sweet Potatoes on 14/07/2014 - 19:18
        +1

        Living in a household that only has tank water fitted, saving water does have a financial point when a load costs $180 for 13K litres

        • cryptos on 15/07/2014 - 18:09

          But you would not be paying water rates correct?

        • sparkles on 16/07/2014 - 10:16

          In the sticks if you run out of water you have to pay a water cartage truck to come and fill your tank. It costs and it's not cheap. Unfortunately if you could just run the hose from the mains into your tank you wouldn't need the tank in the first place. You still pay water rates and effectively get nothing for it, it's for "drainage" even there are no drains etc. Basically, they rip you off and you get nothing in return.

  • modsec802 on 12/07/2014 - 07:15
    +6

    Modern dishwashers are more water efficient than hand washing

    • conan2000 on 12/07/2014 - 08:48

      Exactly what I was thinking. Using the same principal as the full load on a washing machine. You will likely save a fair bit rather than using the sink.

      • StewBalls on 12/07/2014 - 10:31

        These magical dishwashers, do you wind them up with a giant key, or do they also require electrical power???

        • conan2000 on 13/07/2014 - 07:53
          +2

          https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_handwash_…

          http://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/built-in-dishwasher…

          and about 50 other articles I could find. It takes power/gas to heat the water in the sink as well, a dishwasher for us goes on maybe once per day, rather than filling (partly) a sink 3 times or more per day then rinsing. It's more hygenic as well.

          I do agree with the original posters comments regarding hotels though, it would only be more efficient if doing full loads.

        • StewBalls on 14/07/2014 - 11:04
          +3

          @conan2000:
          So, are we also counting the huge number of times that dishwashers do such a shit job that a lot of stuff needs to be rewashed as well? Nothing worse than pulling out the crockery with baked on chunks…

          I pulled my dishwasher out & stuck it in the shed when I renovated the kitchen…we hate them in our household; horrible smelly things for lazy people IMHO.

        • fertiliser on 14/07/2014 - 13:15
          +2

          @StewBalls: are you always so angry? The question was how to save water, not power or level of olfactory penetration.

        • StewBalls on 14/07/2014 - 13:22
          -5

          @jobler: Simple answer mate, limited tolerance for halfwits…take from that what you will!

          The question was how to save water…

          Feel free to include yourself if so inclined, as rewashing also goes to the issue of wasted water & ultimately money! IME, comparisons like the above are made on a lot of pretty specious assumptions by fairly biased idealists… :)

        • StewBalls on 14/07/2014 - 14:55
          +2

          @StewBalls: ^Apologies for the above, BTW; on reflection it was quite rude, even by my standards.

          Affixes Kick Me sign to own rear end… :(

        • YTW on 15/07/2014 - 00:11
          +1

          I've never really had an issue with either of the two dishwashers that I've had doing a lousy job. Perhaps you were a little lazy and not cleaning the filter or stacking correctly…? Just my HO of course…

        • StewBalls on 15/07/2014 - 10:41

          @YTW:
          Perhaps I have missed out on some dishwasher specific voodoo knowledge, but it's not really rocket surgery.

          That said, I've also watched most people I know with dishwashers (1 load per day) pull out the draw at least 50% of the time, swear, pull out some stuff for manual rewashing, then shove in another tablet/scoop & start the sucker up again to do the rest.

          I simply don't like the job they do, but then I do have high standards for dishwashing, having worked in a commercial kitchen for a few years. I know a lot of people seem quite happy to put stuff that's had a very mediocre clean back into their cupboard, just so long as they can delude themselves into thinking they've been so green & efficient. Those people often also wonder why they can't get rid of cockroaches too! I'd rather put in the effort to do it right the first time around, so yeah if you reckon that's lazy, more power to ya! ;)

          The upshot is that the comparison of one daily load to an arbitrary 3x full sink washes per day is pretty inequitable…there's also the fact that if you're going to progressively leave dirty dishes in it all day, they're gonna need to be rinsed pretty thoroughly first or you invite pests & the crud will harden making it difficult to remove anyway…that thorough rinsing takes water as well.

        • JimB on 15/07/2014 - 14:42
          -2

          @StewBalls:

          My Asko dishwasher can wash better than I could for everything except pots and pans (and baking dishes).

          Dishes come out beautifully clean.

          Unless it is a super dirty load I usually only use half a tablet (not to save money, but unless there is enough grease to break down the detergent, too much detergent can be a problem).

          People who only get 50% of their dishes clean don't know how to stack a dishwasher.

        • StewBalls on 15/07/2014 - 15:30
          -3

          @JB1:

          My Asko dishwasher can wash better than I could for everything except pots and pans (and baking dishes).

          Can you appreciate the irony of what you've just said…essentially, my dishwasher is super-awesome, but it can only do half the job?

          I'm having a dafuq moment here…

        • JimB on 16/07/2014 - 11:42

          @StewBalls:

          It washes cups, dishes, plates and cutlery very well.

          It doesn't wash pots and pans well unless I use the heavy duty cycle, however, I prefer not to use it, as pots and pans take up too much room in the dishwasher.

          But anyway, if you want to wash all your dishes by hand, then go for it. I have better things to do with my time.

        • StewBalls on 16/07/2014 - 19:45

          @JB1:

          It doesn't wash pots and pans well unless I use the heavy duty cycle, however, I prefer not to use it, as pots and pans take up too much room in the dishwasher.

          So how do you wash your cookware??? Lemme guess, in the sink…

          I have better things to do with my time.

          Yeah, like do two different loads of dishwashing using two different methodologies…awesome time management bro! ;)

        • JimB on 17/07/2014 - 11:25

          @StewBalls:

          Thanks! I don't enjoy washing up so just the pots and pans by hand and everything else in the dishwasher. Saves more than half the time and allows me to only run the dishwasher every 2nd day.

          I'm glad you enjoy washing everything by hand. I guess some people enjoy manual labour.

    • devilbabies on 15/07/2014 - 08:10
      +3

      "Modern dishwashers are more water efficient than hand washing"

      .. according to a survey cherry picked by a dishwasher company ..

      to work out how much water is used when hand washing, they got a bunch of people, gave them some really dirty dishes and told them to wash them. they didn't tell them to use as little water as possible. of course they used a lot of water.

      however, anyone who makes an effort to conserve water and/or is not eating extremely greasy food can easily beat a dishwasher.

      using a dishwasher is much worse for the environment and much more expensive than hand washing.

      • dishwashers need to be built and disposed of (more $ to buy dishwasher and worse for environment)

      • dishwashers use stronger and more expensive detergent resulting in more highly polluted waste water (more $ to buy detergent and worse for environment)

      • dishwashers use more electricity (more $ for electricity and worse for environment)

      the actual amount of water used is the cheapest and least environmentally worrying part of the equation.

  • fantombloo on 12/07/2014 - 13:30
    +3

    If your intention is to save money then good luck - at ~$2/kl most savings will be small.

    If your intention is to reduce your overall water consumption (for environmental reasons, etc.) then the single most effective thing to do is to stop consuming animal products.

  • peteru on 12/07/2014 - 14:11
    +1

    I brew my own beer. It's a huge water waster. For every 1L of beer I make, I estimate I need about 10-20L of water. But hey, this is OzBargain, so I can easily justify that with the savings. The type of beer I brew costs me about $100 / 20L in ingredients (yes, it's special). Anything comparable in flavour has to be imported from US or Belgium and it ends up costing around $40/L. Of course, it's also tricky to find. The savings is pretty substantial - $40/L * 20L = $800 retail, or $100 if I make it myself. That's a $700 savings every month!

    • AmpeD on 15/07/2014 - 20:51
      -1

      your on crack mate 1L of water makes 1L of beer minus evaporation. All beer is water malt and hops.

      • peteru on 15/07/2014 - 23:24
        +3

        But you need to clean and sanitise all the equipment. This can't be done without lots of water.

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 17/07/2014 - 23:30

        Obviously Amped has chosen to comment on something they know diddly squat about.

        Homebrew FTW!

  • WT on 12/07/2014 - 19:47

    saving water isn't mostly about the cost.

    I used to run the shower into a bucket then use it to fill the toilet.

    Its can take up to 4l to get any warm water which is about 1/2 a bucket

  • TRENT86 on 12/07/2014 - 22:18

    Sprinklers are an easy way to cut use. Do a test and see how deep water is going into your soil.

  • stemcell on 13/07/2014 - 08:28

    Water (the actual use of it) is too cheap in Australia.

  • Mikaela on 13/07/2014 - 09:55
    +1

    Thanks for everyones comments so far. It has been an interesting read and I have learnt quite a bit. I didn't realise water was quite cheap. We started to conserve water around the time we had water restrictions here in Brisbane and by doing so our water bill reduced. I figure I already have these habits in place so I may as well keep doing them

    • TRENT86 on 13/07/2014 - 18:10

      Water rates went up 6% this month in WA. So it won't be too long until saving water will mean a lot more.

  • Moots on 13/07/2014 - 21:57
    +1

    Few things nan taught me.

    1) While waiting for hot water to warm up out of the tap, catch the cold water with a milk bottle
    2) Put a bucket in the shower to catch the excess
    3) When having a shower, lower the head as low as it can go as long as it's comfortable, the higher it is, the more hot water you use as it travels through the air it cools down quickly.

    That's about it.

  • StewBalls on 14/07/2014 - 11:08
    -4

    Hmmm, I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned taking baths instead of showers…you'd be surprised how much water you go through when you take a long, hot shower!!! :)

    • tonyjzx on 14/07/2014 - 11:15

      because when you take a bath you stew in your own dirty water

      no thanks

      • StewBalls on 14/07/2014 - 11:20

        Are you seriously that soft??? :O

        • tonyjzx on 14/07/2014 - 11:22

          no

          its just that for many people they stopped taking baths when they started wearing long pants

          i dont see a point for taking a bath unless you're a kid or a woman

          sorry my opinion differs from yours

        • StewBalls on 14/07/2014 - 11:27
          +1

          @tonyjzx:
          What do you think people did for the literally thousands of years before mains pressure hot water???

          This is the problem with our modern society full of chronic softcocks; man, talk about a prissy bunch of whiners!!!

        • tonyjzx on 14/07/2014 - 11:33

          but since i have 3 showers in my house (and 3 unused baths!) and good water pressure what does that matter to me now?

          i'm sure we all ate raw buffalo back then too…

        • StewBalls on 14/07/2014 - 11:36
          -3

          @tonyjzx:

          but since i have 3 showers in my house (and 3 unused baths!) and good water pressure what does that matter to me?

          I'm sorry, but I was under the mistaken impression that the OP's original question was:

          How do you save water?

          ??? Scratches head…

          i'm sure we all ate raw buffalo back then too…

          Possibly, but I wouldn't expect that from you Tony…a couple of spoonfuls of cement apparently wouldn't hurt you though, dearie! :P

        • cheeseburger on 16/07/2014 - 15:28
          +3

          @StewBalls:

          I'm surprised that someone with such exacting dishwashing standards would compromise their personal hygiene with subpar baths.

          I'm sorry, but I was under the mistaken impression that the OP's original question was

          How do you save water?

          ??? Scratches head…

          Were you really under that impression? I seem to recall that the first post you made to this thread was a smart arsed rhetorical question that highlighted dishwasher power usage.

          These magical dishwashers, do you wind them up with a giant key, or do they also require electrical power???

          I think you might've scratched your head a little too much, buddy!

        • StewBalls on 16/07/2014 - 15:49
          -4

          @cheeseburger:
          You know what, I have actually been waiting for someone to come along with that very same asinine comment…congratulations bro, you win the internet! :)

    • This Guy on 16/07/2014 - 19:51

      I have a small hot water system and it empties in around three minutes of showering/filling a bath.

      That will give me enought water to either wash myself in the shower or sit crack deep in a bath. So yeah, a bath may be better than a 15 minute shower, but if it takes ten minutes to fill up your bath you could have used those ten minutes in the shower.

  • IIGnomeII on 14/07/2014 - 11:19
    +4

    The things I remembers we did a long time ago and during the more recent water restrictions:

    1) Put a bucket in the shower, the catch would be used to water the garden
    2) Made a redirection in the gutter to catch all the water into a barrel to water the garden and for general outside use
    3) When washing car you do the whole thing by bucket
    4) Weights inside the toilet cistern to keep it from running too much water
    5) Only putting on the dishwasher when it is full
    6) If we hand washed, rise the dishes in a plugged sink rather than under running water
    7) Stopped using the bath
    8) When brushing your teeth you used a cup rather than running water.

  • BuyoTheCat on 14/07/2014 - 15:42
    +10

    save water. shower together

    • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2014 - 18:56
      +13

      When has a shower ever been shorter when 2 naked people are in there together?

      :p

      • bbear on 14/07/2014 - 23:44
        +6

        While you're at it….. why don't you wash the veggies too?

      • BuyoTheCat on 15/07/2014 - 12:20

        Do you want me to show you?

  • angelkulit025 on 14/07/2014 - 15:52
    +2

    What we do is put the hose of the washing machine into a bucket and collect the water it has used to water the garden and but mostly use the grey water to flush the toilet..

    It requires a lot of buckets which we do have at home plus carrying it from the laundry room to the the toilet which sometimes is a drag..

    We also collect the water we use during dishwashing and use it to water the plants..

    • one man clan on 15/07/2014 - 12:28

      This is a bad idea. Gray water can cause all sorts of health problems if not done properly.

  • Roman Sandstorm on 14/07/2014 - 21:58
    +12

    Oh boy, am I ever going to be flamed here…

    Before I talk about water consumption, let me address something more fundamental: what kind of society do we want? I mean, really want?

    Are we content (or even happy) with our consumerist, free enterprise, energy-wasteful socio-economic system? Or do we want a fairer, long-term environmentally friendly and sustainable society?

    For better or for worse, I think the evidence is pretty clear, I think that 10,000 years of human civilisation pretty much proves it: we want the former.

    Without making a value or moral judgement here, the entire history of human civilisation has been that of increasing energy and resources usage, of higher and higher standards of living, and of longer and healthier human lifespans.

    Developing nations today do not want eco-friendly, sustainable options in their economic development; they want factories, they want power stations, they want irrigation, fertiliser, modern pharmaceuticals. In other words, they want what we have.

    And us? Europe, North America, Australia, Japan? What do we want? Answer: more of the same. More energy use. More medicine. More technology.

    Yes, a few dedicated people in wealthy western economies attempt to lower their energy footprint (while using their iPhones, driving their Prius's, eating their tofu burgers). And a certain 'consciousness' has permeated some youth, and some idealists, some children are scared (or intimidated) into having briefer tooth-brushing, or smaller toilet flushing.

    But the fact is that the entire economies of western nations are totally dependent on continual and growing consumption. Without growth there is disaster.

    I am not saying this is good or bad. It is the reality of our civilisation. If energy consumption suddenly decreased by 50% there would by incomparable on-flowing disastrous consequences, from the raw materials production (mining, transportation, processing), to power stations, to tertiary industries in manufacturing, technology, etc. Unemployment would skyrocket. Industrial and labour strife would be unprecedented.

    Again, don't think about what would be nice or desirable, rather, think about reality, what would really happen. The scale of social unrest in southern Europe during the GFC would be minuscule by comparison. For right or wrong, our economy relies on growth and continual consumer demand and expansion.

    So, how does our topic of water use come into this? Water is just another commodity. There's nothing special, or unique about it. True, Australia has always appeared to be rather short of the substance, and it's only in recent decades that it has actually started to be treated as a commodity, rather than a public service (or right). Why should we, as individuals, conserve or limit our use of this commodity?

    First, private consumption of water represents about one seventh of all water consumption. Yep. The leaflets the government include with your water bill, urging you to consume, say, ten percent less, really mean almost nothing in real terms. Industry uses many times more water than households. More water is lost to the atmosphere by evaporation from channels and pipes than is consumed by Melbourne. If every person in Melbourne used ten percent less water, the overall 'saving' would be one seventieth of the total year consumption. But the consequences for job losses, and infrastructure support and development would be far more severe.

    You see, over decades we have been convinced that some kinds of consumption are 'bad', and this has eventually gone far enough into our consciousness and accepted to the extent that governments must 'do something'. But that 'do something' is really a con job. Tell people to save water, save electricity, save the planet. And government, and industry, (and people who really think about the situation) all know that only a vast change in human nature will really make a difference. Only when the disaster actually occurs will humans as a whole really change.

    It's the same with climate change. Yes, it is real. No question. Humans are changing the climate of the planet, and the consequences are going to be bad. Very bad. But humans are never going to do anything significant about it until such time as some cities disappear beneath the waves, and a few hundred million people starve to death. And even then we may not. So… we get what we deserve.

    So, do I think it worthwhile 'saving' water at home? Hell, no.

    If I believed that lots of little people doing lots of little bits would make a difference, and change government policy, business policy, and human nature itself, then I would do so. But I think thousands of years of evidence of humans acting contrary to such a manner is pretty convincing.

    • OYC on 15/07/2014 - 22:03

      hows this post not have more upvotes?

      • cbpeh1 on 17/07/2014 - 17:34
        +1

        its too long.

    • RefusdClassification on 15/07/2014 - 23:58
      -2

      Most people don't want to go back to the 'good old days' where there was no electric lighting, no warmth bar from burnt wood, no sewerage, no transport options bar walking and riding horses or camels, no pharmaceuticals bar of few herbs most of which were placebos, no food other than what could be grown locally, etc. Environmentalists moans about the evils of our modern capitalist ways, but they are just as in love with the products of modern industrialism as Liberal voters are. Only rich inner city types (the iPhone users you mention) can afford alternative products like organic food; minimum wagers, people on welfare, and people struggling to pay off a $450,000 housing loan, want whatever can be produced the cheapest.

      Since the public doesn't want to be catapulted back to the Dark Ages, the only solution is to downsize the world's population via mass sterilizations. Less people = less pollution & less waste. Only allow the people with the best genetics to breed (by best I mean intelligent, healthy, free of neurosis, attractive, successful).

      • peteru on 16/07/2014 - 00:08

        I sense that we're only one post away from Godwin's Law.

        • scrimshaw on 16/07/2014 - 18:56
          -1

          But Hitler did nothing wrong!

        • StewBalls on 16/07/2014 - 19:56
          -1

          @scrimshaw:
          I wanna + you just for your sheer bravery, but ummm… ;)

        • scrimshaw on 16/07/2014 - 20:17

          @StewBalls:

          Was actually in reference to a meme but I guess it was too obscure.

        • peteru on 16/07/2014 - 22:54

          Well, since we are here… you might as well take a peek here.

    • Mumbles on 16/07/2014 - 06:05
      +1

      I agree with you on the point that all humans desire a better standard of living. Though I think the points need to be broken down a little more. Increased consumption is not the only way to increase growth. For example innovation is another way such as the creation of new industries/products like Solar pannels which would require designers, chemists, fabricators, sales people, mining, freight, …

      Compare the US economy to China. The USA national debt is billions of dollars owed to china despite having a stronger earning capacity (ie. GDP) and riches in resources. Yet China has a different culture of saving as opposed to consumption.

      As to the consumption of water there are a lot more facets to the story. Australia as a continent receives less rainfall than other places around the world. Only a few years ago there was stories in the news of how the decade long El'Nino drought had effected water supplies of towns to the point where water had to be trucked in. There are decade long studies regarding increased water salinity and declining bore water levels.

      Its true that industry and farming are the biggest consumers of water and other resources. The flip side is that there are millions of individuals which means that a small saving here and there across an entire population adds up to a lot of water saved. During the drought years, local councils implemented water restrictions (eg. washing cars with bucket only) and the benefits were able to be measured by looking at the water catchment levels.

      Water is a finite resource. People need water to live. These facts are regardless of how cheap water is. The water saved by an individual or a community could be used to allow a township to support an extra person (ie. more population).

      Instead of population another example of where the saved water could be used is by increasing farming/industry. ie. more fruit which can then be exported/traded which would also grow the economy.

  • b3n on 14/07/2014 - 21:59

    save water.. drink beer.

    • rodericb on 15/07/2014 - 16:47
      +1

      This may be what you don't want to know but it takes ten litres of water to make one litre of beer!

      • StewBalls on 15/07/2014 - 22:13

        Did you know it then takes about 4 king browns to make one litre of urine! ;)

  • eneloop on 14/07/2014 - 23:08
    -1

    I rent a unit and water is free. Once a month thevwholr family comes around with a tanker each and I fill it up with free water for them. That's how we save money

  • whodidthat on 14/07/2014 - 23:09

    I usually save my water in a bottle.

  • tomleonhart on 15/07/2014 - 15:01

    I urine in the toilet sink. Then wash my hands, the water that washed my hands flush down the urine.

    You're welcomed.

  • Bendo on 15/07/2014 - 15:49
    +3

    I worked out a way to save HALF the water I waste.

    Like when brushing my teeth.
    I used to leave the tap on full and it would all run down the sink. Wasted water!!!

    So now I just turn the tap down to HALF way… thereby saving half the water I waste. ;-)

    • peteru on 15/07/2014 - 15:51

      To save even more water, turn it to HALF of that, rinse and repeat!

      • Less Point on 17/07/2014 - 18:30

        leaving it on a quarter is still too much - just turn it off

  • gracevess on 15/07/2014 - 18:52
    -1

    Don't wast water mean save water

  • neonlight on 15/07/2014 - 22:31
    +1

    Well usually the sewage service or maintenance cost on the bill is like 90% of the bill anyway, so you ain't saving much by saving water, you are only saving the environment

    • JimB on 16/07/2014 - 11:47

      Even then, I doubt you're saving the environment much as we (in Victoria) have plenty of rain/water now, and you can't store it all for a rainy day (haha).

      I also think during a drought, they should raise water prices to encourage people to stop wasting water.

      • OYC on 16/07/2014 - 15:25

        agree, but you will never see it come back down when the drought ends

  • [Deactivated] on 16/07/2014 - 16:14
    -1

    I don't try too hard. I used to care more about this sort of stuff but I just don't. What I have done however:

    Put old coke bottles full of water in toilet cistern to displace capacity and reduce overall volume of water that is flushed.

    Timers on garden taps so if you forget you don't waste it.

    Do I have water reducing valves on my shower heads. Hell no. I rip that shit right out. When I want a shower I want a shower, not a dribble.

    Water is probably the least impact on our bills.

    Electricity, now don't get me started on that. Heaps of people installing panels and feeding back into the grid. Great, now less people are paying for the same infrastructure. Now we are seeing price hikes on maintaining power grids.

    • JimB on 16/07/2014 - 16:34

      I like the ideal of solar panels (I don't have it) but never thought that people getting a $0.66 per kw feed in tariff was fair/sustainable.

      Re: water reducing valves.. The new showerheads which are designed for 9L/min water usage are quite good these days.

      The early water reducing showerheads just feel like a trickle in comparison.

    • scrimshaw on 16/07/2014 - 19:12
      +4

      In japan, they have toilets with sinks built into the water tank. The idea is that the grey water from hand washing doesn't go straight down the drain but is instead used to flush the toilet and refill the cistern.

      http://www.watersolutions.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/t…

      I wonder why we don't see them here, as Australia experiences frequent drought.

      • StewBalls on 16/07/2014 - 19:54
        -2

        I wonder why we don't see them here, as Australia experiences frequent drought.

        Look, if we've got petulant tarts already bleating on about how awfully aseptic it is to take a bloody bath rather than a shower, just imagine how much whining you'd hear about washing your hands over the shitter!!!

        FWIW, I also loved this idea when I was in Japan, it's just elegant in it's simplicity; but getting it to fly here might be an extended uphill battle with the ever growing population of soft, priggish whiners. ;)

  • Logical on 16/07/2014 - 19:38

    instead of having showers, either get a friend to give you a sponge wipe down (use about 5L of water in bucket), or otherwise if you don't have a friend available, then get a large laundry bucket, fill with 10L of water, stand inside it and use a cup to rinse yourself down.

    • scrimshaw on 16/07/2014 - 20:14

      Basically, wash yourself like a japanese person.

      They sit down, wet themselves with the shower head, turn the water off and sponge themselves. Then shower again to wash off the debris. Then have a dip in the heated bath (which by the way, is not drained, it is used later by other family members).

  • This Guy on 16/07/2014 - 19:56

    Shave over your sink. You'll save two minutes of shower water. All I use water for is rinsing my shaver.

  • plexor on 16/07/2014 - 21:16

    Brush your teeth in the shower. Saves water and it encourages you to brush your teeth for the recommended full two minutes.

  • fruit on 16/07/2014 - 21:42
    +2

    When it's yellow, let it mellow. When it's brown flush it down!

  • MelbBargainChaser77 on 17/07/2014 - 10:59

    Being a tightarse on water DOES NOT cut down your water bill. Its those pesky fixed charges for stupid things like "parks and rec charges" that inflate water bills , not the actiual water…Ill continue to let it flow freely thanks

  • Cluster on 17/07/2014 - 14:26
    +2

    My water bill is almost completely composed of connection, service, and sewerage fees (Adelaide).

    SA Water's household comparison table states a single person household (me) without a garden should be using 210 to 295 litres per day. My last bill stated I used an average of 94, and I have a sizable vegetable garden to take care of. I use my dishwasher daily and washing machine every few days, and definatly don't skimp on water usage. I have no idea how I could use double to triple the amount I currently use to be 'normal'.

    The money value of water almost doesn't matter: its value as a resource is much higher. Right now the USA is going through drought with catastrophic conditions developing in some parts of California.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-16/20-signs-terrible-d…

    If conditions don't improve in the next few years there's serious talk about evacuating parts of Las Vegas. They're about to discover water is far more valuable than a dollar or two per 1000 litres…

  • UncleMurphy on 17/07/2014 - 16:58

    I have buckets in the shower, when I shower the water drips into them (I place them in between my legs) after a shower I collect around 10 litres of water and use it to flush the toilet.

  • xyron on 17/07/2014 - 18:04

    I guess it is easy to forget the horrible droughts that we had throughout the mid-00s when it is 5 degrees and pissing down with rain every day in Adelaide in recent weeks. However, saving water is important not just from a money point-of-view but from an environmental one.

    As someone who was on the legal team that defended SA Water during their stoush with the Desalination Plant contractors, it is clear to me that a lot of money can be wasted on ensuring an ongoing supply of our most vital resource (other than $20 packs of Eneloops, that is).

    We are on an old-school lease which forces the landlords to pay the water rates (it helps that the landlords are my housemate's parents, too). So I really have no idea how much water we use. But the one thing I will not scrimp on in this shitty weather is long hot showers in the morning!

  • Davo1111 on 17/07/2014 - 18:24
    • Don't have a pool
    • Don't hose the garden
    • Shower with a friend

    those are my tips

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