Little drops of water save a mighty planet

“Little drops of water save a mighty planet”

Top 10 tips to help you re-establish your connection with nature

So, you think a bucket-and-mug bath is a water-saving one? You couldn’t be more off the mark! Here’s a cool list of things you could do to save a very, very precious resource called water.

1.      Take a shower. Studies have shown that it saves up to 40 per cent water against a bucket-and-mug bath. Moreover, it’s quicker, more efficient and clean.

2.      When you are washing the car, ensure that you do not use a hose pipe or running water. Use a damp cloth instead. This will save water, bring down electricity bills and keep your car shiny and rust-free! And when you sweep the courtyard, sprinkle water from a mug; don’t hose down the area. The dust will settle will just a brisk sprinkling of water from the mug.

3.      Turn off the tap while you are brushing your teeth. Most people merrily leave the tap on while they brush and preen and pout! If you are simply too lazy or forgetful, then get you have to invest in quarter turn taps.

4.      Replace leaking taps and valves right away. One dripping tap can lead to 120 litres of water being wasted every day and this number equals one person’s daily water use!

5.      However stylish a lawn may look, please don’t have one in your garden. Green lawns are actually green deserts. They guzzle water. Instead, grow hibiscus, crotons, plumeria and such water-saving plants. And, whatever you do, don’t grow banana trees in your kitchen garden. Do you know that every kilo of bananas drinks up 3500 litres of water? Do the math now: a 10-kg banana bunch consumes 35,000 litres of water. You’d have to water the plant every day for a whole year before you actually enjoy the fruit of your labour, but at what environmental cost? Water has to be pumped for over 100 km (from the Cauvery) just so that you get your home-grown banana fix! Just buy a bunch when the mood strikes you!

6.      Say ‘No’ to potted plants and grow plants in the soil. Plants that grow in soil consume less water as the moisture in the soil keeps them hydrated and healthy.

 7.      Use the water that you wash the veggies in to water your plants. Wash greens in a bucket of water instead of the kitchen sink and use the muddy water in your garden. You can even use the veggie-washed water to clean your courtyard.

8.      There’s nothing called “old water”. I’ve watched -- in horror -- as folks throw away water that’s been stored for a week or more on the pretext that it has become “old”! Water that is stored in an open tank with light entering it will certainly lead to the growth of algae/ bacteria. Make sure that you store water in covered tank or in containers kept covered in a dark place. Such water is fit for use even after months or years.

9.      Did you know that a Front Loading washing machine saves 50% of water when compared to Top Loading washing machine? Also you can recycle the water that your washing machine spews out every day, this needs some infrastructure like a separate sump with a pump and a dedicated overhead tank which is connected to the toilet flushing system. 

10.  Always water your plants/ garden at dawn or dusk, never in 

the afternoons.  

Talk these ideas over with your neighbors and friends.