As water shortages become an increasing concern, it has never been more important to save and recycle water in your garden, food garden and home. There are many ways to do this, from simple changes in your daily habits, to installing systems to manage your household water usage.
Garden design can do wonders for your water consumption. Drought-proofing your garden conserves water during times of shortage. Flood-proofing not only protects your garden but also reduces runoff and flooding risks, especially in urban areas.
Open lawn is water-intensive, so replacing it with water-wise garden plants is a good idea. Choosing plants native to your area is an ideal starting point, as is having plants with varying canopy heights. Food forests are a fantastic way to integrate varied canopy heights into your food growing areas.
In your food garden, composting and mulching are crucial for soil water retention, while using a watering can instead of a sprinkler greatly reduces water usage. Watering in the early morning or evening minimises evaporation, as does improving the health and structure of your soil. Wind breaks – whether natural or constructed – help to protect plants from evapotranspiration.
Altering your daily habits
Changing your routines, even slightly, can massively save water around the house. For example, use water used to cook pasta or vegetables, leftover water from old bottles and glasses, and water used to clean fruit and vegetables, to water your houseplants or garden.
Place a bucket in your shower while the water heats up – you can then use this to water plants, flush the toilet, or mop your floors. Speaking of showers, you can save a huge amount of water by showering instead of bathing: a full bathtub generally holds 120 to 150 litres of water, so even if you only fill it halfway, you’re using around 60 to 70 litres. A five-minute shower, on the other hand, generally uses between 25 and 50 litres. Low-flow showerheads further cut the amount of water used by roughly 50%, while you can reduce your water usage even further by turning the shower off while you soap your body and shampoo your hair.
If you sweep your driveway instead of using your garden hose, you can position your car so that the water you use to wash it also cleans the driveway. You can be even more savvy by directing the water to run into your garden so it doesn’t go to waste.
Water reuse systems
There are several systems that can be installed around your home and garden to reuse wastewater and rainwater.
A greywater collection system reuses water from the kitchen, bathroom sink, shower, bath, and washing machine. It may contain small amounts of food, grease, dust and other dirt, hair and even some “plant friendly” household cleaning products. These should not contain high levels of salt, boron, or chlorine bleach. If properly managed, this household greywater can be safely used to irrigate your garden.
The nutrients in household greywater can become pollutants causing eutrophication if released into rivers, lakes, or estuaries but are valuable fertilisers for garden plants. By removing them from the civil sewerage system, you help to reduce the pressure on wastewater treatment plants and reduce the amount of nutrients being fed back into natural waterways, benefitting the natural water cycle.
Household greywater should not be stored for more than 24 hours and can generally be piped directly into the garden. It can even be used to irrigate fruit trees and certain types of food gardens, so long as the edible parts of your plants do not come into contact with the soil. Crucially, greywater should not be used in sprinkler systems or poured over edible plants, as it may contain bacteria and other pathogens. Make sure to use products, those without lots of salt, boron, or chlorine bleach.
There are various sink-to-toilet water systems that reuse the greywater from the bathroom sink to flush the toilet. Toilets can make up as much as 40% of household water usage, so by installing one of these systems you can save over 20,000 litres of water a year and slash your water bill. You can even make your own DIY sink-to-toilet solution by simply removing the U-bend under your bathroom sink so the wastewater falls directly into a bucket, which can then be used to refill the toilet cistern.
Capturing rainwater is another simple method to save and reuse water that might otherwise go to waste. Rainwater can be collected from roof gutters and stored in a rain barrel. This sustainably harvested water can be stored for use in the garden, either regularly or in times of severe water shortage. It can also be used for household cleaning, sinks, toilets, and dishwashing. In some instances it can even be purified for drinking.
Dry and Compost Toilets
You can also save water by switching to a dry or compost toilet. These do not use any water or chemicals at all. Dry toilets and compost toilets are increasingly popular environmentally friendly solutions that have been proven to be hygienic and odourless.
Reducing your water use by installing a dry toilet or compost toilet can complement greywater systems, allowing more of this water to be used for irrigation purposes in particularly dry areas.
Save water, recycle water, protect our natural water resources
Central to saving and recycling water is a shift in mindset. It is critical to recognise water for the critical resource it is and conserve it as much as possible. At the same time, putting these water saving and recycling practices and systems in place also provides substantial financial benefits.
Reducing, reusing, and recycling the water we use at home should be a way of life. It cuts water bills, reduces the strain on water infrastructure, helps to irrigate gardens and crops in times of water shortages, reduces the pollution in our natural waterways, and conserves our most precious resource for future generations.