Use "grey water" not mains or "green"-Rainwater Harvesting systems and reduced CO2 emissions..

Use "grey water" not mains or "green"- rainwater harvesting and reduced CO2 emissions.

Dr Colin Green of Middlesex University points out that global warming causes increased variability of rainfall. (Pers. comm.)This impinges on water availability and in the driest regions this means increased water stress and shortages. South East England is under water stress already, with little rain in the last 8 weeks (since August.) Globally the picture is far worse, with desert conditions and droughts extending in extent and severity to cause serious food shortages.

In the UK, we use 500 litres of water a day per family, average personal use of water is 150 litres per person day, but this varies from 75-400 litres p/day. (Cath Hassell, Ech2o)
So, how can we act smart when water is in shorter supply?
How can our reduction in mains supply water also slow down global warming?

Firstly, we can prioritise water efficiency.
Second, we can reduce our water demands and thereby reduce water stress in dry periods.
Thirdly, use of mains water and the use of mains hot water are both linked to carbon emissions and global warming. How? More than 5% of greenhouse emissions are associated with the heating of water for showers and baths. Water is 5 times harder than granite to warm up, so if you leave the hot water tap running or have a leaky tap you are wasting water and energy. It takes 0.7 kg of CO2 emissions per 1m3 of mains water used. Worse still, it takes a massive 10 times that amount of CO2 though if you use 1m3 of hot water. (Jacob Tompkins,Waterwise.)
So, reduce hot water use and you cut your bills and CO2 emissions.
How?
1) Do you heat your bathroom by running a hot shower? Don’t- its wasteful in both water and energy terms and it increases CO2 emissions .
2) Understand how your water system works. Be curious.
3) Have a meter installed. Meters installed inside houses show up underground water leaks and you can then mend these quickly (Jacob Tompkins, Waterwise.)We only have 30% water metering in England; this is way behind Germany and other European countries.
3) Consider retro fitting dual flush toilets and slow flow showers.
4) Replace showers with fast water flow rates for showers with slower rates (less wasteful and less expensive to run.)Replace inefficient taps (- why have inefficient taps anyway?)
5)Use “grey water” instead of mains water for toilet flushing and garden irrigation.
What is “grey water”? It’s recycled rain water collected from roofs and gutters and channelled into water butts and rainwater harvesting tanks. Install several water butts.
You can collect all the grey water you need for your garden – that way you won’t need to use “green” (cleansed and pumped) mains tap water for irrigation and garden watering or for flushing toilets.
“Grey water” collected from water butts and rainwater harvesting tanks are sufficient for garden watering. This helps relieve water shortages and water demand at peak times of drought.
5) Next time you re plan/build an extension/ undertake any changes to your house/your office add a rainwater harvesting tank and pump. Creative landscape design can disguise this.
So, intelligent water use can save you money on your mains/fresh water bills and on your waste water bills. It will also help water attenuation, slow and reduce storm water flows, reducing flooding. Plus, you gain your very own water source for the garden and flushing toilets. What could be better than that?
We waste 150 litres of water per day. 1/3 of our green water is used for flushing down toilets – when grey water could do that job. 1/3 is used for showers and baths; 1/3 is used for washing machines and dishwashers. Next time you flush your loo, think about “grey water”.