Conserving water in your home and garden

Saving water is more important now than ever, not only to conserve our water supplies, but also to prevent water entering overburdened mains drainage. Here we show you ways you can save water in your home

- HUGH METCALF

In the British climate we're certainly not short of rainfall for the majority of the year so you might think that saving water isn't important - but even here in the UK, water is fast becoming an increasingly precious resource. As well as being economical with the water that we get piped into our homes, there's a whole host of other ways that we can put to good advantage the abundant supply of this fundamental substance - whether it comes to us through our water supply or in the form of rainfall.

SLOWING THE FLOW

We all know that taking a short shower saves a lot of water compared to having a bath, but even showers can be made more efficient, as some shower heads are much more economical than others. "Abig tip for conserving water in your home has to be your water fixtures and fittings - think shower heads and taps," says architect Tara Gbolade from Gbolade Design Studio. "Sustainability-minded architects tend to design for potable water use of less than 75 litres per person per day in the home, which has the added benefit of reducing our home's energy demand basically, lower monthly bills."

When buying a new shower head, look for the volume in litres that it uses per minute of the shower. The lower the number, the better, and many modern shower heads include clever technology to ensure that you still get the power shower effect, even with a low flow head. "If you are going all-out; consider pressure-reducing valves (PRVs) on your main water line which, depending on your existing water pressure, could reduce water use," says Tara.