We, in Cyprus, waste a lot of precious water. These Ten
Commandments are to help the ordinary man and woman conserve this resource to
avoid the rigours of water rationing, without losing any quality of life.
Please, do remember that it does not matter whether the water comes from a
mains supply or from a well or borehole; water from a local water table may be
the same as used to fill a potable water supply or used by a farmer to grow
your vegetables. If you waste this “free” water, you will be depriving
others unnecessarily. A word of advice for any householder: have a look at
your water bills over the past year. Add up the quantity consumed and divide
by the number of persons in the household. Add in the quantity of non-potable
water bought in for the garden and water drawn from the well. If you don’t
have a garden, the rule of thumb should be a maximum of about
50 m3
. With a small garden (<
300 m²
),
75 m3
would be reasonable. Large lawns and swimming pools are water sinks. These
commandments boil down to a simple phrase: do
not waste water from any source.
1.
Never hose down the pavement or road outside your house.
The pathways, verandas etc. inside your property may be brushed as often as
you like and mopped down once a week from a bucket (and use the dirty water
afterwards to water your pot plants: they love a dash of detergent in it,
too, but no bleach!)
2.
Do not wash your car with a hose. Use a large-scale carwash
company that recycles its water in a cascade system. If you must do it
yourself, use a sponge and buckets (and use the dirty water afterwards to
water your pot plants: they love a dash of detergent in it, too!)
3.
If you run a bath, don’t wait for the hot water to run before you
put the plug in. If you wait for the hot water before filling it,
you will only have to add cold water later, having wasted the water in the
pipes.
4.
Brush your teeth in the cold water while you are waiting for the hot
water to come through, before washing face or hands.
5.
Shut the tap off in the bathroom while you are soaping and
open it again only when you are ready to rinse off. This applies at both the
wash-hand basin and in the shower.
6.
Put a wet sand-filled plastic bottle in your toilet cistern,
if you do not have economy types. This will reduce the volume of water used
at each flush. The size and shape of the bottle should suit the cistern
design so as not to interfere with the ball cock mechanism. Some cisterns
may be better with two small bottles than with one large one. Generally, one
litre of water less will not reduce the quality of the flush.
7.
Use the economy switch on your dishwasher and clothes washer.
Many washing machines have an economy cycle without a pre-rinse. If the
dishes and garments are not too dirty, use this. Never run a machine which
is not fully loaded; it is better to wait until there are more dishes or
clothes so that the machine is at a reasonable capacity.
8.
In the summer, do not irrigate your garden more than once a day.
It is bad for the root development of your plants, as well as doubling the
water loss through evapotranspiration. Water
only in the evening, after the plants are no longer in direct sunlight.
Spray systems cause water loss through evaporation before the water even
reaches the plant; use drip, jet or flooding methods instead, as close to
the roots as possible. Note that seedlings may require a small morning
watering as well, until they develop their roots.
9.
Don’t irrigate established fruit or ornamental trees. Once
a tree is about six or seven years old, its roots should normally have
developed deep enough to find their own water. Water them only if they show
signs of suffering. Younger trees may require watering copiously once per
week or even twice in exceptionally hot, dry weather.
10.
If you are building or renovating a house, put in a grey water
system.
This
will cost a few hundred pounds extra but will halve your water consumption.
Discuss this page on the Cyprus: the Environment Forum, open to all! 