Inside your home

Households are responsible for almost 80 percent of all water use on the Central Coast. About 70 percent of this is from inside activities like cooking, washing and flushing the toilet. By Living Water Smart in your home you can help save this precious resource and secure our water supply for years to come.

The Central Coast has a daily water use target of 150 litres per person. By following this target you can save water and money. This brochure gives you some tips to help reduce your water use.

70% of water used in the home is from inside activities. 40% for washing, flushing the toilet and clening in the bathroom; 10% for cooking, cleaning, drinking and washing in the kitchen; 20% for washing in the laundry; and 3% for leaking taps and fixtures.

In the bathroom

You can save a large amount of water in the bathroom by installing water efficient products.

By installing a dual flush toilet you use about 60 percent less water with each flush. Or by installing a water efficient shower head you are saving about 11 litres of water every minute.

You can also reduce the amount of water used in your bathroom by:

using a shower timer to limit the length of your showers
using a bucket to collect water while you’re waiting for the shower to warm up and using the water on plants or to wash your car
turning the tap off when brushing your teeth, washing your hands or shaving
not overfilling the bathtub
reusing bathtub water in the garden
be careful not to turn taps on too hard.

In the kitchen

Your dishwasher uses the highest amount of the water in the kitchen. By installing a water efficient dishwasher you could use about half the water of an average model. Before purchasing a new dishwasher, check the WELS rating.

WELS rating

The Australian Government’s Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) Scheme can help you choose a product that saves water and money - the more WELS stars
a product has the more water efficient it is. You should look for products with four stars or more.

You can also reduce the amount of water used in your kitchen by:

using the dishwasher only when it’s full
defrosting frozen food in the refrigerator overnight, rather than using running water
filling the sink to wash vegetables instead of running the tap.

In the laundry

By installing a water efficient washing machine you will use nearly four times less water for each load.

You can also reduce the amount of water used in your laundry by:

using the washing machine only when you have a full load
connecting your washing machine to a rainwater tank
installing a greywater treatment system to reuse water in the garden.

Taps and fixtures

Dripping taps can waste up to 200 litres per day. You can check if your property has a water leak by regularly monitoring your water meter. If you see a large increase in your meter readings it is possible you have a leak. Record the reading at a time when no water will be used for a few hours, like before you go to bed. Check the water meter
in the morning. Any increase shows there may be a leak.

You can reduce the water wasted from taps and fixtures by:

fixing dripping taps, usually by replacing the washer
installing new water efficient taps
retrofitting old taps with aerators or flow control valves.

If you can’t find the source of the leak or need help changing fixtures contact your plumber.

Top 10 tips for saving water inside your home

Install water efficient models of products such as shower heads, dishwashers, washing machines and taps (check the WELS rating)
Only run the dishwasher and washing machine when you have a full load
Use the half flush button on the toilet
Be careful not to turn taps on too hard
Limit the time spent in the shower to four minutes
Don’t let the tap run while you are brushing your teeth, washing your hands or shaving
Don’t overfill the bathtub
Reuse greywater to water the garden
Connect a rainwater tank for internal use
Check for leaks

For more information visit www.gwcwater.nsw.gov.au.