::Le Mag Group:: Water Conservation

Water Conservation, Jun 10

Nigel Howard, www.mysolarshop.co.uk, shows us how to conserve water.

Water Conservation & Drought Warning

It would seem we’ve been “benefiting” from more than our fair share of rain this last 4-5 weeks but the fact of the matter is we’re going to be very short of water this summer. I’ve spoken to many people who have very little if any water left in their wells and are very concerned.

A couple of Sundays ago our weather station showed we’d had 50mm of rain in a 12 hour period, not bad! But unfortunately not good enough. The trouble with heavy downpours is the water doesn’t penetrate the soil and tends to be washed away or causes flooding.

The official word places our department in a situation of crisis. The water levels are very, very low and as a result, water restrictions are being enforced:-
Watering vegetable gardens: Only between 20.00h – 24.00h & 05.00h – 08.00h
Watering your lawn: banned
Private Car washing: banned
Boat washing: banned!
Filling swimming pools: banned
Topping up swimming pools: Only between 20.00h – 24.00h & 05.00h – 08.00h
Private ponds: filling, topping up, and water change banned

Get the full picture for your area by visiting the local Marie. These restrictions are applicable until 15 September 2008, unless the situation changes. You can be fined up to 1500 euros for breaching these restrictions, and 3000 the second time!

8 Easy steps to save water:-

? Wash the maximum amount of laundry at one go. If you have a small quantity, use the ‘eco’ or ‘1/2 load’ button. Avoid the prewash option
? Use water saving flushes – Average toilet flushing consumption per person is 52 litres a day

? Do a night leak test. Read the meter before bed and after getting up to make sure you haven’t got a leak
? Fix any leaks – 1 drip per second equals 4 litres a day
? Leaving water running while brushing your teeth uses on average 9 litres of water
? Scrape food off dishes rather than rinsing before loading the dishwasher
? Make your family aware, particularly children, of the importance of water and the need to control its consumption
? Take a shower with someone else!
Rainwater harvesting

We recently met a couple that gave us some great ideas and tips on this subject. They creatively disguise all manner of containers, such as a buried plastic dustbin or a stacker box, in their garden to collect rainwater.

The problem with storing water in covered containers is that mosquitoes breed and the water can quickly turn green and unpleasant. Ingeniously, their answer is to dispense with the container covers and put a couple of goldfish in. Add some water plants such as Elodea Canadensis, feed the fish a little in spring & autumn and voila you’ve got an ecologically balanced, clean water system for your garden.

Contributed by Nigel Howard, www.mysolarshop.co.uk, 0468 559336