UK heatwave: easy ways to save water during a drought

theguardian.com:

After weeks without rain, the grass is parched, the ground is cracked and a drought has officially been declared across eight areas of England. Water companies are expected toimpose restrictions but what more can individuals do to curb water use?

According to the World Health Organization, people need to use at least 20 litres of water a day for basic hygiene, and 50-100 litres should cover basic needs and prevent health problems from poor sanitation.

Average consumption in England and Wales is slightly above. This used to average about 145 litres, but increased to 153 litres a day during the pandemic as people spent more time at home, according to figures from Water UK. According to Rob Lawson, a director at Artesia Consulting, which advises water companies, the figures conceal the fact that most people are modest users of about 100 litres a day and a small number are very high consumers. The best way to reduce overall consumption is for those who are the biggest users of water to cut down – although this is not always possible.

Remember: it’s not your responsibility alone. Dragan Savic, a professor of hydroinformatics at the University of Exeter, points out that about 3-5% of water use happens at home and another 5% is used by businesses. Most water use is in agriculture.

But everybody making small changes can make a huge difference overall. In Germany, consumers successfully reduced their average daily water consumption from 147 to 125 litres between 1990 and 2021 as part of the country’s efforts to combat climate change.

Alison Browne, at the University of Manchester, thinks people should reframe how they think about water consumption. Consider the fact that water consumption uses energy, which will have an impact on