LAWN

Did you know that the majority of water used in the home is in the garden?

Install a drip system - this will put the water at the roots. The soil will absorb the water preventing run-off.

Deep-soak your lawn – you might think you're doing the right thing watering your lawn every night but in fact it just makes the grass shallow-rooted and most of the water is lost through evaporation. It's better to water a maximum of twice a week, but for longer periods. This also enables the water to soak deep into the soil, encouraging the roots to go deeper and hence making the grass hardier.

Aerate the soil – this allows water to be absorbed more easily.

Use a timer with your sprinkler – this ensures that you only use the amount of water required. A forgotten sprinkler can use up to 1000 litres per hour.

Choose the right sprinkler - choose a sprinkler that produces big drops rather than a fine mist which is easily affected by the wind.

Water early in the morning - gardens are best watered early in the morning, to reduce evaporation. Evening watering, though popular, leaves water on the plants overnight, which can encourage fungal diseases.

THE GARDEN

Use good mulch – a cheap and easy way to help to prevent loss of water through evaporation (up to 73%). Mulch also helps to prevent weeds from growing, stops runoff and puts valuable nutrients back into the soil. The best mulch is compost.

Remove Weeds – weeds compete for water and nutrients with other plants.

Install a drip system - this delivers the right amount of water to each plant where it is needed at a rate the soil can absorb. Very economical and easy to install.

Dunk pot plants - place pot plants in a bucket of water. When the bubbles disappear take the plant out and do the next pot. This saves water and ensures the plants get a thorough drink.

Water roots not leaves – watering the leaves wastes most of the water as it is lost through evaporation. The chlorine in the water can also damage the leaves. The roots will take the water up to the leaves.

Plant native plants – they tend to be hardier and don’t require as much watering.

IN THE HOME

Install a dual flush toilet - about 20 per cent of household water is flushed down the loo. Install dual-flush cisterns. A leaking toilet can waste up to 16,000 litres a year. Check regularly.

Don’t leave tap running when brushing teeth – have a glass of water to rinse mouth. A running tap can use approx. 5 litres per min.

Install water saving shower heads – conventional shower heads use 20 litres per min compared with water saving heads using 9 litres per minute. About 17 per cent of household water is used showering.

Take shorter showers – shorter showers not only save water they save on hot water costs.

Aerate your taps – this can be inexpensive and can reduce flow by 50%.

Check dripping taps – a dripping tap can waste 30-200 litres of water per day.

Buy water-efficient appliances - these can be identified by the ‘AAA’ rating system. The more ‘As’, the more water efficient the product.

GENERAL

Use a bucket to wash the car – it saves on water. Only use the hose to rinse off.

Wash car on the lawn – killing two birds with one stone. Water the lawn at the same time. Also prevents all the chemicals from the detergents from going down the drain and into the waterways.

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