Water
Top tip: To save paper and energy, please don't just automatically print out this page!
Most of the water from Lake District reservoirs actually travels over 100 miles to places like Manchester and other parts of the North West. In a drought, water companies are forced to extract more water from underground reservoirs and from rivers that are already running low.
This puts huge pressure on wildlife like otters and butterflies as too much water is drained away. Low river levels also increase concentration of pollutants in the water, meaning there is less oxygen for the plant and animal life.
Huge amounts of energy are invested to transport safe drinking water to your tap. Allowing water to run down the plughole when you brush your teeth or not fixing a leaking pipe is a ludicrous waste of resources.
Top Tips - Water Saving
- Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. If you leave it running it wastes 18 litres of water, compared to only 2 litres if you turn it off.
- Have a shower instead of a bath sometimes – it can save up to 50 litres of water. Unless you have a power shower as this wastes 50 more litres than a bath.
- Only put your washing machine and dishwasher on when you have a full load. Make sure new replacements have an A Rating on the efficiency label.
- Rinse your soapy dishes in one bowl of water instead of under a running tap
- Put a full plastic one litre water bottle in your toilet cistern to take up space. When you flush there will still be plenty of water to clean it away, but you’ll be saving a litre of water every time.
- Fix any leaking taps – one dripping tap can waste a bathful of water every week.
- Use water butts to collect rainwater from the downpipes of your roof guttering to water your garden
- Water plants in the evening once the sun has gone down so the water doesn’t evaporate away and the heat doesn’t singe them
What goes down your drain?
Have you ever considered the energy and chemicals used to clean up the mess we flush down the loo or swill down the plughole?
Some treatment plants were never designed to take out things like phosphates in many washing powders, so these often go straight back into the environment where they kill fish and other organisms. Furthermore not all our used, dirty water gets to a treatment plant. A flood or blocked system means raw sewage can escape untreated into rivers, lakes and the sea.
Top Tips - Waste
- Put any nasties like sanitary towels, condoms, plastic cotton buds and cigarettes in the bin.
- Put fats in the bin and not down the drain. They can block drains and sewage pipes.
- Use Eco-friendly household cleaning products, that use vegetable-based rather than petrol-based cleaning agents and recycled packaging. The two major companies (Bio-D and Ecover www.ecover.com) provide refill schemes through shops. Check out www.greenguideonline.com, www.21stcenturyhealth.co.uk, www.greenbrands.co.uk or the ‘Cleaning’ page on www.greenchoices.org (all links open in a new window).
- Make your own ‘green’ cleaning solutions. Vinegar and warm water cleans mirrors, tiles and windows. A stronger vinegar solution will descale a kettle or toilet and clear out blocked sink drains if mixed with bicarbonate of soda. Lemon juice is a good alternative to bleach.
The Full Monty
This web page is just a taste of what's on offer!
For more advice, information, links to fantastic websites and background on how you can save pounds whilst saving the planet, download the Toolkit for Sustainable Living in South Lakeland (opens Document Library)
