Saving Water

Australia is a country that is renown for it's glorious sunshine and warm temperatures, however with this climate comes harsh environmental consequences in the form of drought. Areas of Australia continuously go days, weeks and even months without seeing even a drop of rain.

Farmers are at their wits end, crops are dying and the problem is continuing at an epidemic rate. A worrying number of areas in Australia received less than 5mm of rain for the entire month of December (2006).

It is important when visiting this amazing country that you respect the relevant water restrictions and make appropriate adjustments to use water more efficiently and preserve our precious water supplies - every drop counts.

When staying in accommodation or travelling around Australia there are numerous steps you can take to limit your water consumption, including:

In the Kitchen

* Keep a bottle of water in the fridge for drinking, that way you don't have to let water go down the drain while waiting for it to cool from the tap

* Only run the dishwasher when it is full

* Try to limit the use of a garbage disposal unit, these use a lot of water and put extra waste into the sewer system.

* Use the appropriate size pan when cooking

* When washing dishes don't rinse them under the tap, fill up one sink with cold water and a second with hot, soapy water for washing

* When washing the dishes use a plugged sink or a pan of water - this uses less water than running a tap

In the Laundry

* Adjust the water level on the washing machine to suit how much is in there. The fewer clothes in there the lower the water level should be.

* Always try and wait until you have a full load of washing before you use the washing machine, this saves litres and litres of water every time

* If staying in shared accommodation try and pool your laundry together to make a full load

In the Bathroom

* If using the bath tub put the plug in before you turn on the taps, adjust the water temperature as you go rather than adding extra at the end

* Shaving your legs in the shower uses a lot of extra water. Fill a small container with water and shave them before you get in the shower

* Take shorter showers, limit the time to get in, soap up, rinse off then get out. Remember one shower can use over 150 litres of water

* Turn the tap off when you are brushing your teeth, leaving it one can waste over 15 litres/minute

* Use a bucket to collect water in the shower while you are waiting for it to heat up

* When using the bath tub only fill it up as much you really need ie. when bathing small children or pets you won't need much water

Facebook Twitter