Growth that doesn’t cost the earth. Water Conservation

Water is all around us About 75% of the Earth is covered by water. Almost all of it is salt water and therefore is undrinkable. Only 2% of the Earth’s water is fresh water and the majority of this fresh water is stored in ice caps and glaciers This leaves us with a limited amount of water for drinking, washing and growing plants.

Through the ages The amount of water we each use every day has dramatically increased. In 1830 we each used was 18 litres. By 1930, it had dramatically increased to 126 litres. Today it is 144 litres.

Around the World Millions of people in developing countries do not have access to clean water. Many people have to fetch and carry all the water they need. Many have as little as 10 litres each per day for all their needs. It is thought that two thirds of all deaths in developing countries are water- related.

What do we use water for? Drinking Cooking Cleaning Washing Manufacturing Construction Agriculture

Growth that doesn’t cost the earth. Did you know? Each sheet of A4 paper uses 10 litres of water to be produced One kilogram of beef uses 15,500 litres to be produced One kilogram of rice uses 3500 litres to be produced.

What can we do to help reduce our water consumption? Fit water saving devices in toilet cisterns Urinal controllers Take a five minute shower instead of a bath. Wash dishes in a basin and not under a running tap Report any dripping taps Turn off taps completely Switch off the tap whilst brushing our teeth A tap that drips once a second wastes 33 litres a day. That's 446 showers a year!

Did you know? Most of us leave the tap on whilst cleaning our teeth. One kilogram of rice uses 3500 litres to be produced. This wastes 9 litres of water a minute, 26,000 litres per family per year Your street alone could fill an Olympic sized swimming pool each year.