With record high temperatures and the driest July on record only just in our rear mirror, it is as good a time as any to look into what we can do to help mitigate the climate crisis, and there are few more direct ways to help than increasing the efficiency of your water usage.

Recent reports claim, perhaps unsurprisingly, that most people use the majority water in their bathrooms. On the other hand, only 1% of their water usage is in the garden, despite hosepipe bans being one of the first restrictions implemented during a drought.

The Environment Agency and water companies are urging people to be mindful with their usage to avoid shortages during hotter spells, and the unilateral hosepipe ban has placed greater urgency on the limitation of water usage for what are deemed as ‘unnecessary’ purposes.

The water we drink out of the tap originally comes from either reservoirs, rivers, lakes and springs, or underground permeable rocks that bear water known as aquifers. In England and Wales, around two thirds of tap water comes from reservoirs, rivers and lakes (surface water) and the remaining third from aquifers. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, they use much more surface water – 97% and 94% respectively, largely because both countries have far more lakes and rivers per unit area. The UK, then, is especially susceptible to droughts, as the volume of its groundwater reservoirs are directly linked to the amount of water supplied to the UK public.

Fortunately, water companies each have drought plans in place to limit customer usage and draw on emergency supplies – often English water companies will use reservoirs in Wales in these instances. However, if emergency supplies are compromised by prolonged droughts of increasing frequency, water shortages will likely occur.

To reduce the chances of this occurring, we can all do our part to increase the efficiency of water usage, and there are a number of key methods every one of us can employ. The UK uses an estimated 16 billion litres of water every day across homes and businesses, according to the Energy Saving Trust, with each person using an average of around 150 litres a day.

Taking Showers

The vast majority (above 90%) of water is used in the bathroom, with 25% spent on showers alone. Despite this, taking showers is more water-efficient than taking a bath, using an average 60 litres in comparison with 80 litres. Energy efficient shower heads and units can further decrease your water usage.

Washing Machines

Washing machines take up a considerable chunk of kitchen water use (9%), but are more water efficient if used to capacity and at a lower temperature (30 degrees or lower).

Drainwater Recovery Systems

Purchasing a drainwater (or greywater) heat recovery system can also have a significant impact on reducing water usage by allowing you to capture the energy and using it to preheat cold water entering the water heater or going to other water fixtures. This lets your water heater heat more water, and allows you to lower your water heater’s temperature. These systems allow you to recycle up to 60% of your household water for purposes of irrigating your lawn and flushing toilets.

Further Tips

Further water-saving tips include swapping hoses for watering cans, taking shorter showers, and turning off the taps while brushing teeth. If you have a garden, selecting drought-resistant plants and mulch can also reduce water usage over their lifetime.