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1. 50 ways to save water
KITCHEN
1. There are a number of ways to save water, and they all start with you and
me.
2. When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run. Fill one basin with
wash water and the other with rinse water.
3. Dishwashers typically use less water than washing dishes by hand. Now,
Energy Star dishwashers save even more water and energy.
4. Designate one glass for your drinking water each day, or refill a water bottle.
This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash.
5. Use the garbage disposal sparingly. Instead, compost vegetable food waste
and save gallons every time.
6. Wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of running water
from the tap.
7. Don’t use running water to thaw food. For water efficiency and food safety,
defrost food in the refrigerator.
8. Save water, money and energy by only boiling as many cups of water as you
need.
9. Install an instant water heater near your kitchen sink so you don’t have to
run the water while it heats up. This also reduces energy costs.
10.If you accidentally drop ice cubes, don’t throw them in the sink. Drop them
in a house plant instead.
11.Collect the water you use while rinsing fruit and vegetables. Use it to water
house plants.

2. LAUNDRY ROOM
12.When doing laundry, match the water level to the size of the load.
13.Washing dark clothes in cold water saves water and energy, and helps your
clothes retain their color.
GENERAL OUTDOOR
14.Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and save up to 4 gallons a
minute. That’s up to 200 gallons a week for a family of four.
15.Turn off the water while washing your hair and save up to 150 gallons a
month.
16.When washing your hands, turn the water off while you lather.
17.43While you wait for hot water, collect the running water and use it to water
plants.
18.Teach children to turn off faucets tightly after each use.
19.When the kids want to cool off, use the sprinkler in an area where your lawn
needs it most.
20.Encourage your school system and local government to develop and
promote water conservation among children and adults.
21.Play fun games while learning how to save water!
22.Hire a Green Plumber® to help reduce your water, energy, and chemical
use.
23.Hire a qualified pro to install your irrigation system and keep it working
properly and efficiently.
24.When watering plants, apply water only as fast as the soil can absorb it.
25.Use sprinklers that deliver big drops of water, close to the ground.
26.Adjust your lawn mower to the height of 1.5 to 2 inches. Taller grass shades
roots and holds soil moisture better than short grass.

3. 27.#84Leave lawn clippings on your grass, this cools the ground and holds in
moisture.
28.If installing a lawn, select a lawn mix or blend that matches your climate and
site conditions.
29.Aerate your lawn periodically. Holes every six inches will allow water to
reach the roots, rather than run off the surface.
30.If walking across the lawn leaves footprints (blades don’t spring back up),
then it is time to water.
31.Let your lawn go dormant (brown) during the winter. Dormant grass only
needs to be watered every three to four weeks, less if it rains.
32.Avoid over seeding your lawn with winter grass. Ryegrass needs water
every few days, whereas Dormant Bermuda grass needs water monthly.
33.Remember to weed your lawn and garden regularly. Weeds compete with
other plants for nutrients, light and water.
34.While fertilizers promote plant growth, they also increase water
consumption. Apply the minimum amount of fertilizer needed.
35.Water your summer lawns once every three days and your winter lawn once
every five days.
POOL
36.Use a pool cover to help keep your pool clean, reduce chemical use and
prevent water loss through evaporation.
37.Make sure your swimming pools, fountains and ponds are equipped with
recirculation pumps.
38.If you have an automatic refilling device, check your pool periodically for
leaks.
39.When back-washing your pool, consider using the water on salt-tolerant
plants in the landscape.
40.Minimize or eliminate the use of waterfalls and sprays in your pool.
Aeration increases evaporation.
41.Don’t overfill the pool. Lower water levels will reduce water loss due to
splashing.
42.Keep water in the pool when playing, it will save water. Instead of building
a private pool, join a community pool.
GENERAL OUTDOOR
43.Use a commercial car wash that recycles water. Or, wash your car on the
lawn, and you’ll water your grass at the same time.

4. 44.Use a hose nozzle or turn off the water while you wash your car. You’ll save
up to 100 gallons every time.
45.Evaporative coolers require a seasonal maintenance check. For more
efficient cooling, check your evaporative cooler annually.
46.Report broken pipes, leaky hydrants and errant sprinklers to property owners
or your local water provider.
47.Water your garden with a watering can rather than a hosepipe.
48.Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures
are cooler to minimize evaporation.
49.Installing water butts saves up to 5,000 liters of water a year. And your
plants will thank you for rainwater rather than treated tap water.
50.You can also cut water use by 33% by watering plants manually instead of
using automatic sprinklers.
Wastage of Water
People waste water in their homes without even realizing it. We have become so
accustomed to have a 24-hour supply of water that we sometimes forget that we do
not have an infinite supply of water. We must also learn how to save our water
supply.
In some countries, both ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ ones, strict monitoring of
water usage is a way of life and the watering of lawns and gardens routinely is
banned in times of shortage. It is quite feasible to install state-of-the-art recycling
systems by which all household water, including sewage water, is rendered fit for
garden and lawn use. Larger versions of the same systems should also be installed
at schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and in all other buildings, including
businesses where large volumes of water are used on a daily basis.
The water thus collected, if the particular building does not have its own lawns or
gardens on which to utilize it, could then be ‘harvested’ by specially designated
tankers or specifically designed pipelines to be used for cultivation purposes
elsewhere. Such a system, especially if linked to rainwater harvesting systems,
would go to an incredibly long way to ensuring that the countries’ citizens never
have to live with the worry of taps running dry.
There are numerous ways you can save water. You can purchase water efficient
products and install them. This means you can fix and forget. You can install the
product, and you don’t have to alter your behavior in anyway. However, there are
also things that you can do for free which save water.

5. Turn the tap off when you brush your teeth – a running tap wastes 6 liters of water
a minute. Though the shower may be more fashionable and convenient, bathing
with a bucket is truly a great way to save water.
Why can we not use a glass of water when brushing our teeth instead of letting
water run for the duration of the brushing? These are small things, but like the
brushing example, a change in how we go about doing them can have, over large
number of people, a significant impact on the environment, our energy needs as
well as the ground water levels in places where we live.
Dealing with waste water, even in rivers and streams, is having large impacts on
the environment and this will, in turn, have consequences for all of us. But even
though we are starting to see strains here and there, and we talk of trying to ensure
that India does not make it difficult for us to get water by building dams on the
rivers that flow to Pakistan from India, we are not doing anything for water
management.
According to a research study on water resources of Pakistan, approximately water
having economic values of $70 billion is being thrown into sea every year due to
non-construction of water reservoirs. A water starved country, which has the
foreign reserve of only $20 billion, can’t afford throwing water of economic value
of $70 billion every year into sea.
Study of Pakistan Counsel of Research on the water resources of Pakistan
(PCRWR) revealed that rapid depletion of ground water may soon worsen the
water crisis in Pakistan’s major cities, causing a drought-like situation. Such crisis
needs to be taken on war footings; otherwise, a large section of Pakistan’s
population, especially those living in big cities, will be facing severe shortage of
water.
Due to excessive pumping of underground water, the quality of underground water
is being contaminated rapidly with heavy metals like Copper, Nickel and Cobalt
etc, which are the causes of spread of Hepatitis in the people of Pakistan,
especially in those living in big cities.
Water shortage
Such a crisis is inevitable in a country where political leaders are busy slinging
mud at each other in a lust for power while lacking vision. These leaders also

6. oppose the construction of new infrastructure for storing water. The fact that the
word “dam” has been made highly controversial and that its use often spurs heated
discussions between the constituent provinces aptly highlights Pakistan’s
predicament.
Pakistan is running out of fresh water at an alarming rate, and authorities anticipate
that it is likely to suffer a shortage of 31 million acre-feet (MAF) of water by
2025. The shortfall will be devastating for a country with an agriculture-based
economy. Nearly 70 percent of the Pakistan’s population is directly or indirectly
associated with agriculture, which accounts for 26 percent of its gross domestic
product (GDP).
In Pakistan, the majority of agricultural land is irrigated, after accounting for
ground and rainwater, with fresh water from the IBIS. The IBIS is fed through two
major dams including Tarbela and Mangla, which since construction have lost
storage capacity due to enormous silt deposition. Both reservoirs are already
hitting a dead level and are unlikely to carry forward the required flow for the
summer crops.
Pakistan is storing less water among the available surface flows due to lack of
significant storage. And given the severely irregular water availability in rivers, the
lack of adequate storage at all levels make it practically impossible to stock the
priceless resource reasonably. However, the country receives a significant amount
of water from the monsoon spells that, if stored properly, could provide with a
sustainable irrigation system.
River flow did not improve during a brief rain spell in the early summer, and the
temperature also did not raise enough in the northern areas of the country to enable
the melting of snow. The country received 50 percent less snow this year than its
long-term average in the catchment areas, which further ads to the catastrophe.
Due to fewer water releases from the dams, farmers largely depend on
groundwater. This puts extra pressure on the aquifers. The majority of agricultural
production depends on underground water, which is not efficiently utilized causing
the water table to plummet at an alarming rate.
Furthermore, the farming community is wasting a tremendous amount of fresh
water by using outdated flood irrigation methods. About 95 percent of fresh water
is utilized for irrigation, and yet the country is achieving a lower per acre crop
production when compared to India and China in the region.

7. Exponential population growth in Pakistan has also dramatically changed the
calculus of water demand, resulting in reduced water availability per capita.
Populated cities like Karachi lack sound water management and are already facing
a Cape Town-like “day zero situation.”
Water is an absolutely critical part of our daily lives, yet we are forced to make do
with limited amounts of water due to immense shortages. Increasing demand for
water is pushing the country’s vulnerable system to its limits, as a result of which
the country faces a water shortage.
Steps Required To Be Taken Immediately Include:
 Preparation of country's water policy;
 Construction of water reservoirs;
 National Action Plan to be formulated for judicious use of available water.
 Controlled over pumping of underground water and over irrigation practices.
 By increasing the water use efficiency of the crops by switching from
conventional agriculture to conservative agriculture.
 By adopting water use efficient methods of irrigation like Sprinkler, Basin
and Drip irrigation.