Water Conservation

Water Companies

Information on water efficiency is available from your water company. They often have special offers on water butts and may be able to provide you with 'save-a-flush' bags for your toilet cistern.

Thames Water - http://waterwise.fortune-cookie.com/home or call 0845 9200 800.
South East Water - http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/efficiency.asp or call 0845 301 0845.
Three Valleys Water - http://www.3valleys.co.uk/water_efficiency or call 0845 782 3333.

Thames Water earlier this year (2007) held a series of public discussions with customers and stakeholders to hear their priorities and concerns about the long-term future of water and wastewater services in the Thames Water area. Using their comments, Thames Water we have written a draft 25-year strategy, called 'Taking Care of Water'.

This document is now available for public consultation. The consultation is open until Friday 26th October, and comments can be submitted at http://www.thameswaterconsult.co.uk. The consultation document 'Taking Care of Water' can be viewed on this website, either as a whole or page-by-page.

Saving water in the home

• Use the minimum amount of water required when you boil water in saucepans and kettles
• Keep a bottle or jug of water in the fridge instead of running taps until the water runs cold
• Half-load programmes on dishwashers and washing machines use more than half the water of a full load - so wait until you have a full load
• Don't leave the tap running while you brush your teeth as this can waste up to 5 litres of water per minute
• A 5-minute shower uses about a third of the water of a bath. (NB power showers can use more water than a bath in less than 5 minutes)
• Old toilet cisterns can use as much as 9 litres of clean water every flush. Reduce this by placing a 'save-a-flush' or 'hippo' bag in the cistern
• Cotton wool and tissues should be put in a waste bin rather than flushed down the toilet
• Dripping taps can waste up to 4 litres of water a day so replace worn tap washers

Saving water in the garden

• Water your garden using watering cans rather than hoses or sprinklers and target water around the base of plants
• Install a water butt and use rain water on your garden
• Use surface mulches, such as wood chips or bark, to help prevent water evaporation from soil
• Use water retaining crystals in hanging baskets and containers. These are available from most gardens centres and reduce the need for watering
• Use drought tolerant planting such as thyme, evening primrose, rock rose, Californian poppy, pinks, lavender, buddleia and hebes
• Where possible move containers into the shade to limit their water demand and water in the evenings to reduce evaporation

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