Little Green Idea – Saving Water

By Susan Filan, Head of Environmental Education and Science Teacher

Sydney is in the enviable position of having a large water supply that is still at 48% capacity. This means we only have level 1 water restrictions. How long will this water last? It depends on our actions.
Saving water is something that everyone needs to think about every day. We need to make these changes part of our way of life so that we can continue to drink and use top quality water. Sydney Water has a range of suggestions to suit every household at the Love Water website.

Simple ideas include:
• Scrape off plates and put them in the dishwasher – don't rinse.
• Wait until you have a full load of dishes or laundry to run the washer.
• Wear clothes until they are dirty. Many items, such as trousers, can be worn several times before they need to be washed.
• Don't water the lawn – it will recover when it rains.
• Keep showers short. Consider wetting down and then turning off the water while you soap up. Turn the water on again to rinse.
• Use grey water from the washing machine to water garden plants.

If we all think about our water use, it will last a lot longer.