Water facts

Indoors

  • One drip per second wastes around 1,200 litres of water per year (source: Environment Agency - Water Wise)
  • A single washing machine cycle uses up to 100 litres of water (22 gallons), and the average family uses their washing machine five times a week. That's 26,000 litres (5,720 gallons) in a year (source: Southern Water).
  • Take a shower instead of a bath and save enough water each week for 1000 cups of tea (source: DETR).
  • A third of an average family's water use is flushed down the toilet. The average family uses the equivalent of two baths of water per day when flushing the toilet, so install a water saving device in your toilet cistern (source: Save-a-flush).
  • 20-25% of domestic energy consumed is used to heat water in the kitchen and bathroom (Source: Environment Agency - Using Water Wisely) so you can save even more money if you try to be more efficient when showering, bathing and washing up.

Outdoors

  • In half an hour, a garden sprinkler uses as much water as a family of four in a day (source: DETR).
  • Your lawn only needs water once a week, even in the hottest weather. Over-watering can weaken your lawn by encouraging roots to seek the surface (source: Thames Water).
  • Using a hose to wash your car wastes up to 300 litres or 33 buckets of water (source: Southern Water).