So there has been some rain, the fires are out, it’s green, we must have plenty of water in the dams right?
Actually the combined dam levels today are 55.99% currently (ICON water).
https://www.iconwater.com.au/my-home/saving-water/canberra-water-levels.aspx
Readers from last year’s Greentips may recall that in July last year the combined dam levels were….55% (ICON water).
Water is a precious resource, essential to life and predicted to become increasingly scarce with climate change. With hotter, longer and drier summers we need to conserve our water. Read on to find out how you can help by reducing water use in the kitchen.
· Household kitchens use around 10% of total household water consumption for cooking, cleaning, washing or drinking. You can keep this to a minimum if you:
· Remove food scraps by scraping into compost or a bin.
· Garbage-disposal units use about six litres of water per day. Put suitable food scraps into a composter or worm farm instead of down the kitchen sink.
· When you clean your fish tank, use the ‘old’ water on your plants. It’s rich in nitrogen and phosphorous and your plants will love it.
· If you wash your dishes by hand, only use a small amount of washing up liquid. A lot of water gets wasted washing excess suds off.
· Dishwasher tips:
· Your dishwasher is the highest consumer of water in your kitchen, so installing a water efficient model will save you water and money. Before buying a new dishwasher, check the appliance for a WELS (National Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards scheme) label. The WELS scheme labels products for water efficiency – the more stars, the more water efficient the product.
· Only use the dishwasher when you have a full load.
· Use the rinse-hold setting on the dishwasher, if it has one, instead of rinsing dishes under the tap.
Waiting for the hot water to come through?
· Catch running water while waiting for it to warm up. Use it to water plants, rinse dishes, wash fruit and vegetables, or put it in the fridge to drink later.
· Insulate hot water pipes. This will keep water warmer for longer, so you don’t have to wait for hot water to flow from your hot water heater.
· Make sure your hot water system thermostat is not set too high. Adding cold water to very hot water to make it warm is wasteful. New hot water systems will even let you specify the temperature without adding cold water.
· Install a plumbing device that allows the cold water to be recirculated until it warms up.
Discover ways to save water in other areas of your home:
Source: https://www.iconwater.com.au/my-home/saving-water/for-your-home/kitchen.aspx
Kitchen The kitchen is most likely a major consumer of water in your home. Here we use around 10% of total household water consumption for cooking, cleaning, washing or drinking.
Felicity Maher
Sustainability Officer
