Nicholas Grant
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology found 2019 to be the warmest and driest year since records began in 1910. Whilst recent weeks of heavy rain has alleviated some stress on drought-affected areas, it is important to recognise that the drought is far from over in New South Wales, with level 2 water restrictions still in place across the Greater Sydney region. Everyone can do their part to help water conservation in these troubled times, and here are several simple and creative lifestyle choices you can make.
1)Fix Problems Immediately
It is all too easy to notice a dripping tap and ignore it for weeks, but this inaction is wasteful and costly, potentially allowing hundreds of litres literally go down the drain. If you notice a leaky tap you should fix it (or call a plumber) as soon as possible.
2)Short and Sweet Showers
This is a well-known and commonly practiced method of water conservation. Reducing your shower time to around 5 minutes is strongly recommended, as the Murray-Darling Basin Authority notes that a 5-minute shower generally uses between 80-100 litres of water. You can even purchase shower heads which turn off automatically, and if you are a shower superstar, try restricting yourself to just two songs per shower.
3)Ice is Water Too
Just finished your iced drink? Don’t dump those ice cubes in the sink and wait for them to melt. Instead, put them in a pot plant and allow it to absorb the melted water.
4)Cover Your Pool
Depending on the size of your pool, you could be losing thousands of litres to evaporation each month. A properly fitted pool cover can help you retain nearly all of that water, meaning that you do not need to continually refill your pool.
