Around 155 litres of water are used by each person everyday. Here are some simple tips from NI Water to help you use less water.

Tips for your house

• Only boil as much water as you need in your kettle - Overfilling can use twice as much energy and water, every time you boil.
• Try to only turn on your washing machine for a full load - Two half loads uses more water than one full load.
• Put a jug of tap water into the fridge - This uses less water than letting the tap run cold each time you want a drink.
• Fill a watering can or attach a trigger nozzle if you are in the garden watering your plants - Also, watering early in the morning or late in the afternoon will reduce evaporation.
• Try the 4 minute shower challenge - To try and save water, put on your favourite 4 minute song and see if you can finish before the end.
• Fix your leaking taps - A dripping tap can waste more than 60 litres of water per week.
• Use a bowl for washing vegetables - As a bonus, you can use this water to water your plants afterwards.
• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth - A running tap can use 6 litres of water per minute.
• Check to ensure your toilet is not leaking - If you can hear a flow of water when the toilet hasn’t been flushed or can see a slight but constant trickle at the back of the toilet pan, you may have a leaky loo.

How to check if your toilet is leaking:

• Wait until 30 minutes after the last flush then wipe the back of the pan dry with toilet tissue.
• Place a new, dry sheet of toilet tissue across the back of the pan.
• Leave it in place for up to three hours without using the toilet (it might be best to do this overnight).
• If the paper is wet or torn in the morning, you know you have a leaky loo.

Tips for your garden

• Stop using garden hose pipes and sprinklers. Use a watering can instead of a hose to water plants. A hose uses more water in one hour than the average family uses in the whole day!
• Don’t fill swimming/paddling pools and hot tubs. This is a waste of a precious resource. Filling a 12ft swimming pool in your back yard uses the water for 500 people’s daily handwashing. 
• Lawns are great survivors - a sprinkler can use as much as 1,000 litres of clean drinking water in a single hour; more than a family of four would use in a whole day. Even when they look dry and brown, they’ll spring back with the first heavy rain, so avoid watering them wherever possible.
• Buy water efficient plants - If you are buying new plants now the garden centres are open look out for water efficient plants that still brighten your garden
• Be pot savvy - If you’re potting up or planting containers, use ones made from plastic, glazed terracotta or wood. These tend to lose less water than bare terracotta. Bury a short length of pipe into your pot; if you water into the tube the water goes directly to the roots where the plant needs it most
• Mulch weeds away - Use mulches like bark chips or gravel to retain moisture and keep weeds down