8 tricks to save water

Bathing and showering account for another third of the water consumption of a typical household. Compared to standard faucets and shower heads, WaterSense® certified tub faucets use 30% less water and WaterSense® certified shower heads use 20% less water. For a 10-minute shower, these savings can add up to over 5,500 litres of water a year.

To maximize your water savings when bathing, opt for taking a shower rather than a bath. While a bath uses a tub full of hot water, showers allow you to control the flow of the water and the length of the shower, saving you both water and energy. WaterSense® certified faucets and shower heads will further save you on the cost of heating the water.

As you likely use it every day, replacing your dishwasher with a newer, more efficient model can significantly reduce your water consumption. An ENERGY STAR® certified dishwasher will not only use up to 30% less water than a standard model but 12% less energy as well.  

Some people assume that washing dishes by hand rather than with a dishwasher is a good way to save water and energy. On the contrary, an ENERGY STAR® certified dishwasher uses only half as much energy as hand washing and will save you almost 20,000 litres of water annually.

Using a dishwasher will also save you over 200 hours of personal time every year. Rather than washing and drying every individual dish, you simply load them into your dishwasher and push the start button. The boosted water temperatures offered by ENERGY STAR® certified dishwashers provide better cleaning and disinfecting when compared to hand washing as well.

Water consumption peaks over the summer months, and most of that rise is due to increased outdoor use. In fact, roughly a half to three-quarters of all municipally treated water ends up on lawns during this time of year.

Help preserve potable water as well as the energy used to treat it by connecting rainwater barrels to your home's gutter system. Any water that falls on your roof will be channelled into the barrels, which can fill up very quickly during periods of heavy rain. You can then use this water for activities such as washing your car or watering your lawn and garden.

Grass may be the most common sight on residential lawns, but this monoculture approach contributes to a good deal of excess water use. This is because grass does not grow well in every climate and will require much more water and care than plants and flowers that are better suited to where you live.

Choose different groundcover plants that are adapted to sunny and shady spots. Plants that are better adapted to the environment will require less maintenance and fertilizer, and you'll spend much less time weeding as well. Cultivating a biodiverse yard is a great way to reduce the environmental footprint of your landscaping.