Q: What is the difference between Permanent Water Saving Rules (PWSR) and Voluntary Water Savings

A: Voluntary Water Savings are in addition to the PWSR

Q: Can I use a sprinkler to water my garden ?

A: Hand held hoses using a trigger nozzle can be used at any time of the day.

A manual sprinkler system (ie something that is switched on, left to water and then switched off) can only be used between the hours of 6pm and 10am daily.

An automatic sprinkler system (ie no manual operation required, system is pre-programmed to water) can only be used between the hours of 8pm and 10am daily.

Q:  When I’m watering my garden it’s hard to know when the plants have had enough.  What can I do?

A:  Put a container such as an ice-cream container on your lawn or garden before using a sprinkler or hose.  When the water in the container is 10mm deep, watering time is over.

Q:  By not leaving the tap run when I brush my teeth, how much water could I save?

A:  Depending on how fast the tap is running you will save in the order of 15-20 litres of water per minute.  That could add up to more than 12,000 litres per year.

Q:  How much water do I save by taking shorter showers?

A:  You will use in the order of 20 litres per minute while taking a shower.  A three minute shower will use around 60 litres of water, that’s 40 litres less than a five minute shower.  Each additional minute under a daily shower uses in the order of 7,500 litres of extra water per year.

Q:  How much water does a dripping tap waste ?

A:  Surprisingly, depending of course on how fast the tap is dripping, even a slowly dripping tap will waste over 10,000 litres of water each year.

Q:  I recently found out that my hot water system has a thermostat.  Can I change the temperature it is set to and alter the setting for different climatic seasons?

A:  Yes you can, and by doing so will waste less water getting the hot and cold balance just right.

Q:  How can I save my shower and bathroom water and use it on my garden?

A:  In the shower, place a bucket under the shower while waiting for the water to heat up.  Otherwise, install a greywater system to collect all of your laundry and bathroom water for re-use in the garden.

Q: Will we be likely to go to the most critical stage of Category 4 this summer

A: It is not possible to answer this question at this time. We are assessing weekly the status of supply in each of our water supply systems. As soon as we have an indication that a water supply scheme is in a critical supply stage, and there is the need to raise the restriction category, notification will be given.