Local Water saving

• Encouraging the practice of reusing washing water for flushing, or redirecting it through filters to gardens, using low flow showerheads, etc.

  Water is an essential ingredient for life.

  Fresh water supply is rapidly becoming a critical issue in many areas, and with growing populations and changes brought about through global warming, the problem is steadily worsening.

  There is very little use made of recycled water, though the technology to efficiently and economically reuse waste water has existed for decades.

  Options you could consider putting in your home to conserve water:
   

  Water Saving Shower heads
  This will also save both water and electricity by giving the same shower effect using a smaller quantity of water. The clever design of the head disperses the water more finely.
   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Toilet water saving
  Toilets use a major proportion of water in most households. Did you know you are wasting between 8 - 12 litres of water with every flush. Alternatives include:
  1. Collecting water from your shower in a bucket and using this to fill the cistern
  2. Urinating on your compost will save water and help to activate the compost by adding nitrogen.
  3. Build or buy a Human Composting Toilet , See these websites for more info
      ECOSAN   ENVIROLOO   SOLARSAN
      Or see the Humanure Handbook

  Re-use Grey Water from your bath/shower/dishwasher
   

  Rainwater Catchment Systems Although rainwater storage is relatively expensive, it provides water of a high quality which can also be used for drinking

  WATER CONSERVATION ALSO MEANS BEING
  CONSCIOUS OF THE CHEMICALS YOU
  PUT INTO THE WATERWAYS

  Our consumption habits are one place where we can all make a difference and help improve the health of our waterways. Personal products such as face creams, deodorants, prescription medicines, and household cleaners work their way down into sewers, storm drains, and eventually enter our watersheds and drinking water.

  Consumers can easily substitute less chemically potent substances for daily grooming and cleaning. A growing organic movement has made available a variety of such selections.

  Worldwide population growth and consumer spending have increased exponentially in the last few decades, and the amount of money spent at the household level has increased by a factor of four since 1960. We must be conscious about what we buy, where our waste goes, and how we protect our watersheds and estuaries.
   

  Making your home more sustainable does not have to mean spending thousands on expensive systems. Flush toilet only with grey water using the following:

  1. 2 litre scoop (recycled pool chemical packaging)

  2. 15 litre bucket

  3. 50 litre plastic drum.

  It works like this:

  • The shower is above the bath, which is very convenient but not essential.

  • The toilet cistern cover is removed and kept off.

  • The tap for the clean water going into the toilet is closed.

  • Water is collected by placing the bucket below while showering, and from the plugged-up bath.

  • The water in the bucket is poured directly into the cistern, or poured into the drum (kept in bathroom) for later use.

  • The drum is kept in the bath, empty the water out if it stands for longer than a day (It should not be stored longer than necessary as bacterial activity will increase).

  • Use the scoop to transfer water from the bath to the drum, or to the bucket for filling the cistern.

  • A normal shower should give at least 3 flushes (3 x 8 to 12 litres depending on the cistern size).

   

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  Rod Tritton,  landscaper / tree expert,  sent in this excellent idea.

  Pissing into the wind :)

  Environmentally it is incumbent on us, especially us men with a handy device, to wee outdoors. In your own private garden that is.

  Seriously, it should be mandatory, and for a multitude of reasons.

  1.  Firstly and more obviously weeing outdoors saves the water used for flushing. This is a precious resource that costs us nationally and individually and is indulgently wasted on toilet flushing. 30% of household water! 5-10 litres per flush.

  2.  It also alleviates the pressure on the sewerage system which costs the environment, the local authority and ultimately ourselves.

  3.  Urine is a valuable source of organic nitrogen as well as a host of other micronutrients essential for plant growth. It therefore reduces our dependence on inorganic fertilizers and the resultant eutrophication (over-fertilization) of the environment as they leach into rivers and dams. The Chinese have been utilizing their effluent on their fields for centuries and it has worked for them.

  4.  It gives us an opportunity to check on our gardens and plants and see what they need.

  5.  And Spiritually, it gives us the satisfaction that we are contributing to the environment and not degrading it which we do with most of our daily actions. Far from pissing into the wind, weeing outdoors offers us a brief moment to appreciate nature and commune with her, offering our “give-away” in a reciprocal energy exchange which can revitalize our souls.

  A quick hint though. Don’t wee in the same spot as the plants might start to burn. Spread your gifts around and you will find, unlike pissing into the wind, that they come back to you in other more rewarding ways.

  Lots more water saving tips here