StC Payroll Giving are proud to raise awareness for the amount of water being wasted in the UK each year. We’re supporting Concept Cubicle Systems postathon and by posting this fact sheet we’re donating £10 to Wateraid to help countries that are in desperate need of clean water.
How You Can Save Water
• Don’t Run the Tap: running the tap while brushing your teeth can waste 4 gallons of water.
• Upgrade Your Toilet: older toilets can use 3 gallons of clean water with every flush, while new toilets use as little as 1 gallon.
• Don’t Use a Hose: a garden hose or sprinkler can use almost as much water in an hour as an average family of four uses in one day.
• Upgrade Your Dishwasher: a water-efficient dishwasher will use as little 4 gallons per wash cycle, whereas older models can use up to 13 gallons.
• Flush Less: Over a quarter of all the clean, drinkable water you use in your home is used to flush the toilets.
• Fix Leaks: A single leaking tap wastes as much as 5000 litres of water each year.
• Don’t Buy Bottled Water: 1/3 what the world spends on bottled water in one year could pay for projects providing water to everyone in need. Rather than buy, donate.
• Shower, Don’t Bath: It takes about 70 gallons of water to fill a bathtub and around 18 gallons for a shower.
Why We Need Awareness
• 2.3 billion people don’t have a decent toilet of their own.
• 844 million people don’t have clean water close to home.
• Diarrhoea caused by dirty water and poor toilets kills a child under 5 every 2 minutes.
• Around the world up to 443 million school days are lost every year because of water-related illnesses.
• 31% of schools don’t have clean water.
• 3.3 Billion litres of water are wasted every day in the UK through leakage.
• In just one day, 200 million work hours are consumed by women collecting water for their families.
• Unsafe water kills 200 children every hour.
• 80% of all illness in the developing world is water related.
• If the entire world’s water were fit into a 4-litre jug, the fresh water available for us would equal only about one tablespoon.
• Many people in the world exist on 3 gallons of water per day or less. We can use that amount in one flush of the toilet.
• Up to 50% of water is lost through leaks in cities in the developing world.
By being aware of how much water we waste, we’re hoping we can be more mindful in our approach to the water we use. Many countries are desperate for water and we can donate money but also save money by being more careful with the water we waste.