With Histon named as the driest village in the UK after a summer of soaring temperatures, HI Sustainability has been looking into ways to conserve our precious water supplies. Ahead of this Saturday’s information stall outside our village Tesco, group member Laura explains why every drop matters.
H iston and Impington’s scorching summer saw village lawns turn brown, the Brook run low and a hosepipe ban (still in operation) come into force but the conditions experienced here are just the tip of a global iceberg.
This year is an El Nino year, meaning that sea temperature changes in the Pacific have only just begun to adversely affect weather systems across the world, bringing both drought and excess rainfall – most likely to be felt worst here through energy and food disruptions.
In what is likely to be a challenging next few years, our water companies have a key role to play. According to its own figures, Cambridge Water loses up to 97 litres per household per day through leaks, totalling 15% of treated water daily. They have set themselves a target to reduce leakage by 20% in their 2025-2030 business plan.
We can all play a part in conserving this most precious of resources and it’s important to stay in control of yours and your family’s water usage. Water meters can help with this and reading the meter regularly will help you see the impact of your water savings on your bill.
Catch the rain
HI Sustainability is looking into the possibility of a village wide ‘butt lift’ – a cheeky term we have coined as we consider the possibility of a mass purchase to enable more households in the village to own at least one water butt. If a quarter of us had a regular-sized butt, we could save around 210,000 litres of rainwater.
By incorporating more water storage into our village, we could also reduce the amount of water going into the sewers, therefore reducing the excuse for water companies to discharge raw sewage there. Capturing some of the rainwater in water butts also reduces the risk of flooding and provides a useful source of water for use in the garden when there is less rain.
Start saving water today with these tips from HI Sustainability members:
In the bathroom
- Turn off the tap when you’re washing your hands or brushing your teeth
- Use the old adage “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down” to decide whether a flush is necessary
- Use dual flush toilets correctly – short flush for liquids and longer flush for solids
- Put a bucket under the shower to collect the water, then use this water to flush the toilet
- Date night? Nothing says romance like a shared bath (then siphon the water onto the garden)
- Replace baths with a shower
- Restrict showers to 4 minutes
- Get the kids in the shower instead of the bath by playing their favourite songs. Find playlists on Spotify which include challenges to stop your shower time when the music stops.
In the kitchen
- If you’ve got water left in your reusable water bottle at the end of the day, use it for soaking pans, or watering plants
- Rinse fruit and veg in a bowl of water
- Only put the dishwasher on when it’s full
- Use the washing machine when it’s full – clothes can be worn twice before being washed, extending their life and saving energy and water
In the garden
- Install a water butt
- If you have a water butt, make sure you empty it before the next rainfall to slow the flow and ease flooding
- Use leftover water from the kitchen for watering the garden
- Make a pond and create a damp section of the garden to help the local wildlife
- Plant trees and shrubs to increase shading, reduce temperatures and increase water absorption
Where do we go from here?
Thankfully our reservoir of community spirit runs deep and, to engage further, HI Sustainability members will be holding a water information stall on Saturday 26 September from 10am-1pm in front of Histon High Street Tesco. Come along – find out how to save water and gather tips on installing a water butt. We would love more help with the village “butt lift” and there will be an opportunity to sign up or offer help with this campaign.
To find out more or to share your own water saving tips, email histonsustainability@gmail.com with the subject heading ‘water’.
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