no cost/easy actions
- Talk with the Council’s Eco Building Design Advisor about designing buildings & renovations to conserve water
- Read water meters regularly to check water use & identify potential leaks
- Fix dripping taps immediately
- When doing the laundry, wash full loads & use cold water – use the eco cycle on washing machines & dishwashers where possible
- Only run the dishwasher when there is a full load
- Put a brick in the toilet cistern if it isn’t dual flush
- Take showers rather than baths to reduce your water & energy use
- Take shorter showers
- Don’t leave the tap running when brushing your teeth
- Limit the use of water for cleaning where possible by using brooms & microfibre mops instead of hoses
- Wash vehicles on the lawn – car shampoos pollute waterways but fertilise grass!
- Turn off automatic irrigation and only water when necessary
- Water your garden in the early morning or evening to reduce water loss through evaporation
some cost/medium effort actions
- Measure & audit water use to identify savings possibilities
- Install water saving nozzles on taps, showers, hoses etc
- Buy a shower timer to ensure shorter showers
- Develop ways to reduce watering your garden
- Replace the garden sprinkler system with drip irrigation around plant roots
- Use low maintenance planting & mulch to create a water efficient garden
- Install a rainwater barrel for garden watering
more cost/more effort actions
- Select water efficient appliances
- Replace conventional taps with tempered spray taps
- Install dual-flush toilets
- Install greywater and/or rainwater systems
- Go off the mains water supply & use rainwater for household uses
- Replace lawns & thirsty exotics with drought resistant natives to conserve water
- Design & plant a rain garden to conserve water