Did you know the average British Columbian uses 353 litres of water per day?  That’s almost 2 full bathtubs!  Yet the average Kamloopsian makes even that amount look puny: we use a whopping 850 litres per day, peaking during the summer to an astounding 1,750 litres of water per person per day.

Eighty percent of the water consumed in the summer is used outdoors to water grass as well as hose driveways and wash vehicles, according to the City.  With water meters being phased in to charge residents for actual amounts used, many residents will be looking for ways to reduce their water bill.

Water wise tips:

• To find out if your lawn has been watered enough, put an empty tuna can on the grass.  When it’s full, your lawn has all the water it needs
• Consider re-doing part of your yard as a xeriscape.  The days of endless yards of gravel are gone: today’s xeriscapes can be lush and colourful.
• Take a “sailor shower” — turn off the water while soaping and shampooing, then rinse off quickly
• Never put fats, oils or grease down the drain.  The substances can clog pipes, are costly to remove, and deplete oxygen in our rivers, lakes and oceans.
• Replace your showerhead with a newer model that uses an uaverage of 5 litres of water perminutes.  Older showerheads use as much as 14 litres per minute!
• Limit your use of harsh chemicals such as lawn and garden pesticides as much as possible.  Pesticides can pollute soil and groundwater, and can be carried into surface water by run-off.

Find more water wise tips and resources at drinkingwaterweek.org.

Drinking Water Week is May 20-26, 2013. Get to know your H2O!  Celebrate Drinking water Week and take the Community Water Challenge!  Learn more about where your water comes from, and where it goes when you’re finished, and what you can do to protect it.  Take the challenge…and win!