17 Water Conservation Tips and Tricks

• How to Conserve Water
• Always turn taps off tightly so they do not drip.
• Promptly repair any leaks in and around your taps. (One leak can waste several thousand litres of water per year.)
• Use an aerator and/or a water flow-reducer attachment on your tap to reduce your water usage.
• When hand-washing dishes, never run water continuously. Wash dishes in a partially filled sink and then rinse them using the spray attachment on your tap.
• If you have an electric dishwasher, use it only to wash full loads, and use the shortest cycle possible. Many dishwashers have a conserver/water-miser cycle.
• When brushing your teeth, turn the water off while you are actually brushing. Use short bursts of water for cleaning your brush. (This saves about 80% of the water normally used.)
• When washing or shaving, partially fill the sink and use that water rather than running the tap continuously. (This saves about 60% of the water normally used.) Use short bursts of water to clean razors.
• Use either low-flow shower heads or adjustable flow-reducer devices on your shower heads. (They reduce flow by at least 25%.)
• You can reduce water usage by 40% to 50% by installing low-flush toilets.
• Wash only full loads in your washing machine.
• Use the shortest cycle possible for washing clothes, and use the "suds-saver" feature if your machine has one.
• Use only cleaning products that will not harm the environment when they are washed away after use. Look for "environmentally friendly" products when shopping.
• Lawns and gardens require only 5 millimetres of water per day during warm weather. Less is needed during spring, fall, or cool weather.
• Water lawns every three to five days, rather than for a short period every day. In warm weather, apply 5 millimetres of water for each day since the last watering.
• Water during the cool part of the day, in the morning or evening. Do not water on windy days.
• Do not over-water in anticipation of a shortage. Soil cannot store extra water.
• Use shut-off timers or on-off timers, if possible. Do not turn on sprinklers and leave for the day.

Now You Know. It's time to Act

Water is a limited resource. What each of us does in the world, how we live, does make a difference. As we learn the value of clean, safe water and how scarce it truly is, we can take steps to protect it and to get it to people who lack access today.

Did you know that neearly 1 billion people, mostly in the developing world, have no access to safe water? More than double this number - about 2.4 billion - have no access to any form of improved sanitation facilities. They could use your help to get it.

Learn more about the world water crisis »