[PDF]Water-Conservation-in-the-Home

Water Conservation Tipsheet 5o P

We can no longer take our water supply for granted, so here's
a series of tips for saving water - and using it more wisely.



Centre For
Alternative
Technology
Publications



Machynlleth, Powys SY20 9AZ / Tel. 01 654 705950 / Fax. 01 654 702782 / email, info@cat.org.uk / website, www.cat.org.uk




The amount of water on the planet is constant, and the British
Isles as a whole has a reasonable proportion
of it. However, our demand for water is
rising, and our rainfall pattern is very
seasonal and likely to become
more so with the effects of
climate change. About 75%
of us have no economic
incentive to save water -
we are unmetered and pay
fixed rates however much
water we use. In contrast,
consumers with a metered
supply use on average
around 20% less water.
If you are already on a meter,
the suggestions in this tipsheet
translate directly into cash
savings. If you're not, we suggest
you carry out the most cost-effective
measures anyway and then get your water
company to install a meter (free of charge) - your
bills will almost certainly be less than an unmetered supply.

How much do we need?

Five litres per person per day is a minimum just to stay alive. At
the other extreme, the average American uses a hundred times
this: half a cubic metre per head per day. In the UK, the amount
we typically use in the home varies from about 120 to 220 litres
per head per day, with another 100 litres or so as our share of
industrial and commercial use.

Modern lifestyles demand at least 40 litres per person per
day, and 80 litres is probably a reasonable target for overall
sustainability in ordinary homes. At this rate, a household of
three would be consuming 240 litres a day, or about 22 cubic
metres per quarter.

How do we use our water?

Private households account for 51 % of water consumption.
Average household use is shown in the chart, although this will
vary a lot from one family to another. Less than 10% of the water
is actually used for drinking, although all the water supplied is of
drinking quality. In nearly all households the largest amount of
water is used for flushing the toilet.

How to use water more efficiently

Different things suit different people, so take the information here
as guidelines rather than exact recipes. The basic idea is to do
the easiest and most cost-effective things first and see how you
get on. We have divided the suggestions into four categories
on the basis of cost, and within each category we have tried
to rank the items in order of cost-effectiveness. As a general
guide, start at the top of the list and work down, but rearrange
the order if that's the logical thing to do. Remember that if you're



saving hot water, you'll be saving the cost of heating it as well
as the water itself. Once you get your household
consumption down to 80 litres per head
per day, it's probably best to call it
quits and spend your resources on
greening up other areas of your
life.

\

Category I:
Free or almost free

Most of these are simply
common sense, and
doing them all could save
up to 30% of your water
consumption. It's true that
they involve a bit of thought
and perhaps changes of habit,
but they are not really difficult or
onerous.

Check for leaks and fix them or get them
fixed. Most of these are dripping taps.

• Don't flush the toilet every time you pee.

• Put a water-filled drink bottle (with lid screwed on) in the toilet
cistern. Water companies give away special bags for this
purpose. These objects displace some of the water and reduce
the amount needed for flushing. Be careful not to interfere
with the flushing mechanism. Don't use a brick or rock - these
could damage your cistern. This technique is only suited to
older siphon flush toilets (the 9 litre, or 2 gallon, cisterns). Don't
try this in a newer cistern or one with a dual flush button; these
toilets are already fairly efficient.

• Showers can use less water than baths, but if you have a
power shower, measure the flow rate (with a bucket and
stopwatch) as some use a lot more.

• Whether washing dishes by hand uses more or less water
than a dishwasher depends a lot on your technique! If you buy
a dishwasher, check that you are buying a water and energy
efficient one.

• Make sure only full loads go into the washing machine.

• Reduce water use in the garden (use a trigger-spray rather
than a sprinkler, use drought-tolerant plants, mulch the ground
to reduce evaporation).

• Wash your car with a bucket of water, rather than a hose, or
use a carwash where the water is recycled.

Category 2: Tens of pounds

These are things that most householders could do with little
difficulty and will save an additional 10% (or more if the final item
is included).

• Insulate hot water pipe runs so you don't need to run the tap
for as long to receive hot water. (This also saves energy.) If
you're re-plumbing, use narrow-bore pipework and keep the
run between the boiler and appliance as short as possible.



Less paper, more trees: download this tipsheet and other titles at www.cat.org.uk/catpubs



• Install low-flow taps, or attach spray fittings to those that are
only used for hand washing.

• Get a large water butt for garden watering, with overflow
accessories if required. 1

• Install a simple bypass system for channelling greywater into
the garden through a hose. 2

• Consider some very basic toilet alternatives outside the house:
a pee-can and/or an unvented bucket toilet. 3

Category 3: Hundreds of pounds

Now we are getting into serious investments, with dramatic and
unusual measures. The payback times can be rather long, but
these will save serious amounts of water and are particularly
recommended for new buildings.

• Install a low-flush toilet. This will reduce water use to an
average of 4 litres from the old fashioned 9 and the newer,
more efficient 7.5. There are many makes. Expect to pay
E150-250. 4

• Install a waterless urinal for males. Very little water, if any,
is required to flush urine away. Standard urinals can now
be retrofitted with simple modifications so that no flushing is
required. Having one in the bathroom would reduce water use
by several per cent at least.

• If the washing machine needs replacing, make sure you get a
water efficient one. This could cut water use by 5% on its own.
It may cost slightly more than a standard model, but is likely to
be of better quality, and will also save energy. 5

• Invest in a very large water butt if you need a lot of outside
water - 1500 litres or more. 6 It can be partially buried if
required, and the water can be recovered via a low-powered
pump that would cost you less than 50p a year to run. 7
Alternatively, you can keep it at ground level and draw water
from the bottom through a hose and trigger-spray.

• Install a basic vented compost toilet, which uses no water.
These are often difficult to fit into standard bathrooms, although
there are compact models. Be warned that visitors and some
members of the family may find them disconcerting (see Lifting
the Lid, CAT Publications).

Category 4: Over £ 1 ,000

Finally we have sophisticated water systems costing an arm
and a leg. With these measures you could theoretically cut your
mains demand by a further 20-50%. They give big potential
returns but are not particularly cost-effective at present water
prices, having payback times of ten years or more. We do,
however, need to build up experience to improve designs and
expand the market to reduce prices, so this is an area for well-
heeled enthusiasts to make a serious contribution.

• Rainwater collection systems. It is technically possible
to provide all your own water from the roof and disconnect
from the mains entirely. However, we do not recommend this
because the cost of purifying to drinking standards is not
justified for the small proportion that is actually drunk. Rain
can provide for pretty well everything else, but if you are
already connected, leave the mains to supply the drinking
stuff. Reliable systems that comply with the water by-laws
range from around £500 if you do most of it yourself to many
thousands for the very best quality equipment. 8

• Greywater recycling systems. Greywater is the wastewater
from the sink, shower, washing machine, etc. - everything
except the water from your toilet. Currently available systems
seem to have a higher environmental impact than your mains
water supply, so there is little to recommend them.



Notes

1 . Plastic water butts can be obtained cheaply from garden
centres. Traditionally the drainpipe runs straight into the butt,
which overflows when full. Simple devices which run the excess
back into the pipe are available from CAT Mail Order.

2. Basic greywater systems - for example, the 'Water Two'

- divert the water in the waste pipes directly to a hose nozzle
for hand-watering the garden. They are available from Water
Two, Greenside Head, Revenstonedale, Cumbria CA17 4LU;
tel: 01539 623 429; website: www.watertwo.co.uk. There is
also a chapter on water efficient gardening, including the use of
greywater, in The Water Book from CAT Publications.

3. In essence this is like an Elsan in which a dry 'soak' material
is used instead of water. They need emptying when full, and the
material can be composted for use on non-edible crops. For a
range of commercial models, contact Eastwood Services, Kitty
Mill, Wash Lane, Wenhaston, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 9DX, tel:
01502 478165. See also Lifting the L/dfrom CAT Publications.
The pee-can is simply a 25 litre container with a very large
funnel. It also needs emptying when full, and can be put down
the drain or the toilet, or used in the garden.

4. For example the Ifo, Ido and ES4 toilets, available from the
Green Building Store in West Yorkshire:

tel: 01484 854 898; www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk;
Construction Resources in London: tel: 020 7450 2211;
www.constructionresources.com, or Elemental Solutions near
Hereford: tel: 01594 516063; www.elementalsolutions.co.uk

5. The consumer magazine 'Which?' carries out research on
washing machines and other water using appliances. Subscribe
online at www.which.net for access to their product reports. In
2006 the Miele Premier 500, with an energy label of AAB, was a
Which? Best Buy on running cost and reliability.

6. 1500 litre recycled plastic tanks are available through CAT
Mail Order. A range of even larger tanks can be obtained from
Balmoral Tanks in Aberdeenshire: tel: 01224 859100;
www.balmoral-group.com/tanks

7. Suitable pumps and filters are available from Rainharvesting
Systems Ltd: tel: 01452 772000; www.rainharvesting.co.uk

8. Commercial systems are available from Gramm
Environmental in East Sussex:

tel: 01273 844899; www.grammenvironmental.com
or AquaStore in Cornwall: tel: 01288 359 994



Recommended reading

You may find the following CAT publications helpful:

• The Water Book: find it, move it, store it, clean it. . . use it,
Thornton, 2005, £12.00, ISBN: 1-90217-523-9

• Sewage Solutions: Answering the call of nature,
Grant, Moodie & Weedon, 2005 (3rd Edition), £12.00,
ISBN: 1-90217-526-3

• Lifting the Lid: an ecological approach to toilet systems,
Harper & Halestrap, 1999, £12.00, ISBN: 1-89804-979-3

• Various water tipsheets from CAT - order or download at
www. cat. org . u k/catpu bs

The above titles are available direct from CAT Mail Order:
tel. 01654 705959 to order or receive the complete Buy
Green By Mail catalogue. Visit www.cat.org.uk/catpubs to
order, read reviews or download tipsheets and factsheets.



Written by Peter Harper, updated by Judith Thornton
The Centre for Alternative Technology, August 1998, updated 2006. Published by CAT Publications, CAT Charity Ltd. Registered charity no. 265239