One of the most obvious ways of saving water is to make sure you are not loosing water through any leaks. But we often forget these little tasks and focus on bigger ones.

So, how can you check for leaks? Here are some simple tests you can use:

1. look in the bowl of your bathroom, kitchen and laundry basins/sinks first thing in the morning. If the bowl isn’t dry, there could be a tap leak.
2. place a dry sponge or tea towel in the bottom of a sink or basin. If it is still dry a hour or so later (assuming you haven’t used the sink in that time), it is unlikely that tap leaks
3. test how hard you have to turn a tap before it stops dripping. If it is hard work, get it fixed as it will only get worse – and not everyone will be careful in turning it completely off anyway
4. turn off everything in your house that is using water, then go and watch your water meter. If it is still ticking over, something is using water so find where the leak is.
5. add some food dye (just a few drops should do it) to the cistern of your toilet(s) before you go out for a few hours. If the colour is in the bowl when you get back, your toilet is leaking. (Note you will need ot start agin if someone flushes the toilet before you test it!)
6. put a dry bucket under garden taps for a while. If it remains dry, no leak – a wet bucket means leaks…
7. look at your hot water service – is there a pool of water or mud around it? Remeber that a hot water leak also wastes heating energy and costs as well as water so its well worth keeping an eye on.

So we challenge you to find any and all leaks in your house over the next week. Share how you found the leaks, too.

For the sake of comparison, record your water meter readings today and just before you fix any leaks. Then do it again a week or so later. How much water did you save by fixing those leaks?

Posted: December 1st, 2007 under challenges, general, saving water.
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Stage 3a restrictions came into force on 1 August 2007 for all of Melbourne.

You can find the complete list of restrictions at www.ourwater.vic.gov.au

Note that these restrictions are in place until at least 30 June 2008 and there are water patrols in our streets checking we are following the rules.Did you know that breaking the rules will get you a warning notice? Breaking that notice not only leads to potential fines ($429.15 under stage 3a) but may also mean the water supply to your home is restricted.

Posted: November 27th, 2007 under general, saving water.
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We all remember the rows of drinking fountains at school – and still see them regularly if we go to schools as teachers, students or parents.

Unfortunately, drinking taps like that are not very efficient – a lot of water is lost each time someone has a drink. Having cups instead wouldn’t really help – kids would still spill it or pour out what they didn’t finish and then the cups would have to be washed, etc.

So many schools now put ice-cream containers underneath the drinking taps or run the trough into a bucket instead of the storm water system. The collected water can then be used to water the school gardens or oval.

Of course, these systems only have value if someone actually pours the collected water onto a garden or oval! I always empty the ice-cream containers when I walk past them at my kids’ school – do you ever empty such containers?

If someone is rostered to do this task it will (hopefully) be done regulalry but it may mean some lost water if the container fills before they get to empty it. So perhaps it is best to train the children themselves – “if you see the container is at least half full, carry it to a plant and water it!” This sort of behaviour should be part fo what they are learning anyway.

How is drinking water waste dealt with at schools near you?

Posted: November 22nd, 2007 under saving water.
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Yes, even first aid is being affected by the drought!

The first thing you woud do for a burn or a cut is put it under running cold water to take out the heat and clean the area.

Of course, when we’re all trying to cut back on the amount of water we use, running water for first aid doesn’t seem so good.

For a small cut, the amount of water required to clean it is probably pretty small so this isn’t an issue. But a burn should be held under water for at least a few minutes, and that can add up to being a lot of water down the drain.

The simple solution is to run water over the burn and collect the water in a bowl underneath. The bowl of water can then be used on the garden, to wash clothes or whatever.

If water is really limited, use two bowls and pour the water from one bowl over the burn into the second bowl and keep swapping. This water will eventually warm up and be less useful for the burn, but this is better first aid than not applying cold water at all or for too short a time.

Posted: November 15th, 2007 under general, saving water.
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When’s the last time you had a sponge bath? Or maybe you don’t remember ever having one?

Personally, I remember having a few back when we had no gas for a while so hot water was scarce. I’d boil the kettle twice, pouring the water into the laundry trough each time. Using a fash washer, I’d sponge myself and by then the water had cooled enough to bath my baby in the trough.

It is much more convenient to jump in the shower – and washing my hair is much easier that way! But the amount of water we ocudl all save by taking the occasional sponge bath is amazing. Did you know that the average three minute shower uses 27 litres of water? Well, that’s for an efficient shower head – it can go up to about 60 litres with a poor shower head.

A sponge bath can be done with 4 litres comfortably, and a lot less if necessary.

So are you up for a challenge? Can you swap to a sponge bath once a week or once a fortnight? If you can get everyone in your household to do it, watch your water metre and see what difference you are making.

Good luck!

Posted: November 12th, 2007 under challenges, saving water.
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