Conserving Water

California is currently undergoing a severe drought. As someone who lives in an arid country and is environmentally conscious, my household, under the leadership of my wife, has developed several tips to conserve water. It also helps conserves our health and budget.

Here are the tips, roughly ordered from least to most impoartant:

• In our home, we usually need to keep the water running for some time before we get hot water. Instead of wasting the cold water, we direct it to a bucket. This water is later used for filling the toilet.
• Likewise, we recycle the water used for bathing our kids, who are still small.
• We don’t currently have a dish washer, but it is much more efficient than washing by hand.
• Various products require large amounts of water to produce. That’s why we drink water. For example, every 0.5l bottle of soft drink requires 170 to 310 littles of water to create¹. Drinking water is healthier, cheaper, and friendlier for the environment.
• Finally, if you do only one thing, reduce your consumption of animal products. Nothing takes up more resources² than producing meat, with dairy products not far behind. A cow needs to drink and eat. And what it eats needs to be grown and watered.

1. According to this Water Footprint case study. ↩

2. According to another Water Footprint study. ↩