Port Macquarie-Hastings Council - How much water do you use?

Water - what do you use it for?

The average home in Australia uses 230,000 litres (230kL) of water per year.
27 per cent of water used at home takes place in the bathroom and shower.
About 15 per cent of water at home is flushed down the toilet.
A dripping tap can waste more than 24,000 litres of water a year - that's more than an average household uses in a month!
Installing a flow control device is as easy as changing a washer on a tap. A flow control device can be adjusted to reduce water flow from 25 litres per minute to nine litres per minute.

Ten minutes spent hosing driveways wastes 200 litres of water.
Ten minutes spent washing the car with a hose wastes 200 litres of water.
Brushing your teeth, when leaving the tap running, wastes up to five litres of water.
Six litres of water is wasted every time you use the full flush on the toilet.
A top-loading washing machine wastes 150 litres of water very time it is used without a full load.

Bathroom

Install a AAA+ rated shower rose. A daily five minute old-fashioned shower uses up to 45,000 litres of water a year. The same shower habits using a AAA rated shower rose uses 16,500 litres - a huge saving! Water efficient roses also save you energy costs because you will use less hot water.
To rinse your razor, run a little water into a plugged sink. Rinsing your razor under a running tap wastes a lot of water.
Turn the tap off while you brush your teeth.
Install a rainwater tank and have a plumber hook it up to your hot water supply.

Kitchen

Put a plug in the sink when you wash your vegetables.
Save water when you cook - steaming or microwaving your vegetables uses less water than boiling. Steamed vegetables are likely to retain more goodness and flavour than boiled vegetables.
Scrape dishes instead of rinsing them.
Don't turn on the dishwasher until it is full. If you can afford a water efficient AAA+ rated dishwasher, buy one. A regular dishwasher uses about 37 litres of water per load, but a AAA+ rated dishwasher uses about 16 litres.
Slow the flow: water efficient taps, flow control devices and tap aerators are all great, inexpensive ways to cut your water usage without you even noticing.
Thaw frozen foods before you need them or use the microwave instead of placing them under running water.
Keep a container of water in the fridge so that you won't need to run the water down the sink until it's cool enough to drink.

Laundry

About 20 per cent of a household's water is used in the laundry.

A good washing machine with a water efficiency rating of AAA or better can reduce your laundry water use by 65 per cent.
Only turn on the washing machine when it has a full load.
Try to use phosphate-free laundry powder, it is more gentle on the environment and better for your lawns if you divert your washing machine water.
Remember to regularly clean the lint filter on your washing machine.
Install a rainwater tank and hook it up to your laundry.
Consider re-using the rinse water or diverting it to the garden to water the plants.

Toilet

About 15 per cent of the water you use is flushed down the toilet. If you flush an old-fashioned 11 litre toilet five times a day you will use 60,200 litres every year. The same flushing habits with an AAA-rated 6.3 litre dual flush toilet uses 19,700 litres - a huge saving.
Fix the leak! A leaking toilet can waste 96,000 litres of water a year.
Install a dual flush toilet.
Install a rainwater tank and have the plumber hook it up to your toilet.

Garden

When planting new garden beds, group plants with similar watering needs together.
When planting, add some organic matter such as compost to improve the soil and help its water retaining abilities. At the same time, add some wetting agent - they help make the best use of any water available.
For existing plants, water the base of plants, not the leaves. This ensures the maximum amount of water gets to the roots where it is most needed.
Mulch, mulch, mulch! It doesn't matter what it is - grass or leaves, compost, manure, lucerne hay, straw, sugar cane, newspaper, pinebark or woodchips, as long as there is a good thick layer of 50-100mm. Mulch helps retain moisture in the soil and breaks down to give the area around plants a nutrient boost.
Before mulching, always make sure you water the soil well around all the plant.
Water your garden in the cool of the early morning or in the evening to reduce the amount of water lost through evaporation.
Use a watering can or water efficient trigger nozzle on your hose to direct the water where it's needed most. If you need a watering system, consider installing a drip irrigation or micro-irrigation system.
Try not to cut your lawn too short. Mow only the top third of the leaf area, leaving it three centimetres or higher. Save lawn clippings and re-use as mulch.
Train your lawn to use less water. If you water it too often it will get lazy and its roots will be shallow.
Cut-down on lawn area with native garden beds, that do not require watering.

A forgotten sprinkler can waste up to 1000 litres an hour. A tap timer will remember to turn the water off when you don't.

Over the course of a year, a typical household lawn could use as much as 100,000 litres - that's enough to fill two backyard swimming pools!