Water

Just how much water did we use this quarter?

Today we received our water bill. Our average daily usage during the last quarter was 133 litres a day - or 67 litres per person. This is down from 84 litres per person during the same time last year. For those of you in Melbourne who remember the previous State Government campaign 155 aimed at reducing water usage to 155 litres per person per day.

What have we done so far to reduce our water bill?

We replaced both shower heads with low flow versions when we moved in.

In addition to a 2,000 rainwater tank which was installed when we bought our house we have installed two 100 litre rainwater tanks. While they are relatively small we use them for all our hand watering. We installed them so a 9 litre watering can fits nicely under the tap.
replaced both shower heads with low flow versions when we moved in.

We also have an ASKO dishwasher which is also very efficient in terms of energy and water use. The quick was uses approximately 10 litres per quick wash.

In terms of appliances we have an ASKO front load washing machine which we selected based on energy and water efficiency ratings. We only wash with a full load and we use the quick wash cycle almost all of the time.

Outside the house we've added lots of mulch to the garden beds (more on our garden in another update).

So what's the average daily consumption?

According to the Melbourne Water Weekly Water Report this week the average is 142 litres per person. So we think we are doing well at reducing our use of water.

What's next?

• A basin in the kitchen sink to capture cold water while we wait for the hot water to come through. We will use this to water indoor plants, or empty on a thirsty garden bed.

• This spring we will rethink what we plan to grow in the garden and try to reduce the amount of thirsty vegetable plants. And did we mention more mulch for the garden beds!