WATER WASTE

The average family of four in the U.S. uses about 400 gallons (1,514 L) of water every day, however in many other parts of the world people can't just turn a tap for a clean reliable source of water and risk their lives each day drinking dirty water. Try to reduce your water use as much as possible as all water needs energy to get to your house, no matter how, and the less water you use the less energy is needed and consequently the smaller your carbon footprint and water bill. It is small actions like these that added up over time have a huge impact on your carbon footprint. This advice area gives you simple steps to reduce your use of water. Check them out below: 

• Take shorter showers or fill the bathtub only a quarter to a third full - 1 bath can use as much water as 3 showers, so it is worth to try and have showers over baths - imagine all the water you can save! You can also fit a water-saving showerhead to reduce the amount of water your shower uses - a low flow showerhead can save 15 gallons (56.8 litres) of water in a 10 minute shower.
  
• Only use your dishwasher and washing machine when completely full - these two appliances are some of the largest users of water in a household - around 22% of household water use comes from laundry machines alone.
• Swimming pools - if you have a swimming pool, use a cover to reduce evaporation and save you having to refill it as often. This will also stop leaves and similar debris from entering your pool, and potentially save the lives of local wildlife, for which an uncovered swimming pool can be a death-trap.
• Aerate your taps - most modern taps already have them, and if yours don't you can easily and cheaply install one. Aerators mix the water flow with air, and this reduces your water use which over time can save you lots of water and money. As well as taps, aerators can be use in Jacuzzi baths, hose pipes and garden pond pumps, however they are the most effective in kitchen and bathroom taps where you frequently use the water. Aerators also have other benefits as they also reduce the splashing from your taps, which as you will know can be very annoying and messy. Aerators can cut the water used from taps by as much as 50%, which is very effective when you consider how often you use taps ever day.
• Don't wash your car as often - washing a normal-sized car usually takes around 150 gallons (567.8 litres) of water. That's a lot!! Try to reduce the amount of times you wash your car each year and when you do try to be more efficient - don't keep the hose on all the time, instead only turning it on when you need it, and only wet the parts of the car you are washing instead of trying to keep the whole car wet including the parts you aren't even currently washing. Also consider taking your car to a professional car wash as they generally use less water and drain tier used water into the sewage system instead of storm drains so their washes have less of an impact on the marine environment.
• Buy less bottled water - the process of producing one bottle of water requires 6x as much water as there is in the bottle. Try to use as little bottled water as possible if you are truly serious about saving water, and instead drink something like tap water that has been left out for around 30 minutes so the chlorine has evaporated, or even take advantage of a local spring if you are lucky enough.

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