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Securing Our Water Future

Lifestyle

Securing Our Water Future

Written by Suze Chalmers

Faced as we are with growing climate uncertainty, we need to be mindful of one of our most precious resources – water. As a reminder, National Water Week 2009 (18-24 October 2009) is approaching quickly and one of the key messages this year is that: We're all responsible for our water future!

Some fascinating water facts¹:

of all the water consumed in the house,
- 29% is used in the shower.
- 12% is attributed to the toilet
- 14% is used by the clothes washer
- 1% is used by the dishwasher
- 25% is used outside the home
a dripping tap can waste 30-200 litres of water per day
an average person visits the toilet 2500 times a year
one flush of your toilet uses as much water as the average person in the developing world uses for a whole day’s washing, cleaning, cooking and drinking
you spend about 3 years of your life in the toilet
an average Sydney household uses about 209,000 litres of water per year and this averages out at about 573 litres per day²

OK – but really, what can I do?

The obvious answer is we can all do our bit by actively saving water and using water wisely. Yes, we’ve all heard it before, easy enough to say but really, what can I do? Here are a few ideas to help spawn some action.

This little device that can make saving water something you can do without thinking! The Aqua Clic® is a Swiss-made flow controller replacing the old aerator and fitted simply to the thread at the end of your taps. No plumber needed.

Save water by up to 72%

Aqua Clic has the capacity to reduce the average 26 litre/min water flow, to a constant 5litre/min (or 3litre/min depending on model), regulating the flow with a full and pleasant stream of water that never splashes regardless of the water pressure in your area.

This saves up to 72 % of water, plus saves energy, green house gas emissions and your money.

Aqua Clic also makes a wonderful educational tool for saving water as once installed it will provide a constant reminder and facilitate discussion about saving water and water conservation. There is also a special anti-theft version for investment properties and public places. Makes a great personal or corporate gift too!

To find out more visit http://www.aquaclicwatersaving.com

Wash smarter

As washing machines are one of the highest water users in the household and the average 4.5-star washing machine saves around 24,000 litres of water a year, it makes ecological sense when buying a new machine to choose the most water efficient model. Now it can also make economic sense – the NSW government will chip-in^? toward some of the cost.

Through Sydney Water, there is a $150 rebate for those who purchase a new washing machine with at least 4.5 -star water efficiency rating. The rebate offer is part of the NSW Government's Climate Change Fund.

Application forms are available from major retail outlets in Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains or you can download one from www.sydneywater.com.au. Eligible washing machines are listed on Sydney Water’s website.

To enquire about the rebate in other areas of NSW, call the Department of Environment and Climate Change on 1300 361 967.

National Water Week 2009 – Securing Our Water Future

Put it in your diary - National Water Week 2009 will be held from 18-24 October 2009, and is the premier, all-encompassingcommunity water awareness event in Australia, hosted by the Australian Water Association (AWA)in partnership with the National Water Commission.

Mr. Ken Matthews, CEO of the National Water Commission, said, “Managing our water more effectively is one of the most important and urgent challenges facing Australia. Drought, climate change and water shortages make water reform more necessary than ever.

A host of events are taking place around Australia – find events near you via the online Events Calendar.

For more information on National Water Week, visit http://www.nationalwaterweek.org.au.

Editor: Do you know of a gadget or have an idea that would make it simpler to save water? Why not tell us about it?!

¹ Victorian Water Industry Association

² Sydney Water

^? Rebate available from 1 August 2008 until 30 June 2010

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More information about this topic in our water section.

Written by Suze Chalmers

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yoshi hashimoto 2009-09-24 21:55:21

re- your article:
http://www.greentimes.com.au/lifestyle/se
curing-our-water-future.html
at the end you asked for gadget/idea input.
I am
not actually in Australia, but I am an architect in Canada. I have
designed/installed a greywater system in my house which directs all my upstairs
bathwater into holding tanks to flush my downstairs toilet. I save the
equivalent of at least 5 flushes a day (it would be twice that if I didn't share
the bath with my wife!)
I will be posting a "how to" on
instructables.com in about a week.

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