The leaflet was prepared as a part of Comenius project Be Globally Aware by the students from Anna Vasa School in Poland

1. Water Facts
Worth knowing
Only 0,5% of the world's water ressources is availa-
ble for man’s and ecosystems fresh water needs
 Sealing leaky taps and valves saves about
11 cubic metres of water a year on every 1,1 billion people lack access to fresh water supply
One of the most important resources for
tap. and 2.6 billion people to improved sanitation
a human being is water. Thanks to it the life on
A person needs 50 litres of water a day for its basic the Earth began to exist, and it is water that
needs. From the farm to its fork, the food for its
makes life on the Earth possible at all. The
daily diet will have used 3500 litres
amount of water on the Earth gave its name
The cup of coffee you may drink reading this pa- the Blue planet, when seen form the space the
ge required 140 litres of water Earth is of blue colour. It has been estimated
 A dripping tap wastes about 35 litres of that the water resources of water make 1,338
Producing food for the increasing world population
water a day. When we shut water off billion km, however only a few percentage
will require 50% more water
while brushing teeth we can save up to 12 points of this amount
-15 litres of water. If all Europeans turned Water networks systems can waste more than 40%
is suitable for immedi-
off their taps while brushing their teeth, of water suppy through leaks and cracks
ate use.
then the water saved this way in a year’s Each cubic meter of untreated waste water can pol-
time would fill 6 000 Olympic swimming lute 8 cubic meters of fresh water Many people around
pools. the world experience
Water-related disease kills a child every 15 seconds the problems with the lack of water. According
 Limiting the time spent under a shower to WHO data about 1, 1 billion of people have
or filling the bath only in half, can make a no constant access to the running water of eat-
four-person family save 150 cubic metres able standards. It means that one person out of
of water. six suffer from thirst and the diseases caused
by the water with too many contaminants. Wa-
ter is a prime resource of utmost importance
for the development and existence of our civili-
zation.

2. Turn on your dishwasher and
washing machine only when Use a bucket with water to wash your car,
WATER SAVING TIPS they are full. You save up to 4 000 not a garden hose. Instead of 100 you will use 20
litres a month! litres of water. Avoid also
Turn water off while brushing using the hose when you
teeth, shaving and doing similar clean your stairs, the ter-
activities over the washbasin. You Use water and energy saving race, or the pavement.
may lose up to nine litres of water programmes in your dish-
a minute if you brush your teeth washer and washing machine
under running water. Wash your car in a car wash, not at home.
every time they are not fully
Take a shower instead of lying If you must wash your car on your own, do it on
in a bath. This amounts to 150 Limit the use of running water your lawn – you will water the grass as well.
litres difference. when washing the dishes. Instead fill one
part of the sink with water and dish- Do not pour out water that can be used once
If you do use a bath, fill it again. The water from a bath can be used for
washing liquid for washing-up and the
in half or even one third. cleaning, the one from rinsing veggies – to water
other part with clean water for rinsing.
One bath could even save up the plants.
to 100 litres of water then.
Rinse fruit and veggies in a con- Collect rainwater and use it to
Limit the time spent under the shower. tainer with water, not under running water the lawn
A ten-minute-long shower may use up to 180 li- water and store the water away for later
tres of water, i.e. almost as many as filling a bath. use, eg. to water the plants.
A four-minute-long shower uses only 60 litres
Water your lawn only in the
Do not use running water
Avoid flushing the toilet morning or in the evening. Then
to defrost meat or frozen
unnecessarily, e.g. after water is absorbed by the plants
food, simply take it out of the
throwing away litter, butts, and does not evaporate.
freezer for the night.
or hankies. Remember that
the toilet bowl is not
a dustbin. Do not throw away kitchen waste into the sink Adjust the level of mowing the grass because the
Have leaky toilet cisterns and taps fixed. – washing it down uses a lot of water. higher it is, the more humidity it keeps.
Depending on how leaky they are, you can waste
even 30 cubic metres a year.