This graph shows how water use
has varied over the last few years. Serious efforts to save
water started around June 2004 as I implemented all the Simple
Tips. How we managed to use the same amount of water
in three successive periods defeats me, however I do know
the September 2002 to March 2003 period was affected by a
burst hot water tank which flooded parts on the house and
I estimate wasted 3 to 4 cubic meters of water. I expect
water use to be lower in the winter because we still use
some water for the garden and there tends to be more use
of baths and showers in hot weather. The high rainfall in
summer 2007 helped the figures. The water use for the summer of 2008 are an understatement due to our not being around a lot of the time, the actual saving is probably around half that indicated. The figures for winter 2008/9 also indicate that the previous six months usage was abnormally low. |
The graph below shows the percentage
water saving by comparing March to September periods with March
2002 to September 2002 and September to March periods with
September 2002 to March 2003. The saving for the September
06 to March 06 period is lower than expected due to extensive
use of a power washer in March, this job normally gets done
in April. The figures for 2006 show a marked
reduction, I suspect because we used very little mains water
in the garden last year and use of the power washer was all
in March plus we gained a bit from the changes made to the
toilets and new dishwasher is being used a lot less than
I originally anticipated. The savings over 2007/8 have continued
mainly due to more use of showers, more efficient use
of the dishwasher and washing machine plus less use of the
power washer. The 2007/8 figures shown
a year on year reduction of around 60% which is really good
news both for my pocket and the environment. The saving for 2008 is overstated due to us not being around for a of of the summer and as expected winter 2009 is quite a bit higher. It is now
going to get much harder to save water and I expect the cost
savings to tail off somewhat over the next year. |
