People have responded with their own methods for saving water following advice to take a four minute shower in order to save water during the dry weather. An expert from Natural Resources recently called on people to take shorter showers and re-use their washing up water in their garden to conserve water as supplies run low.
Tracey Dunford, a lead specialist advisor for water resources said: ""People can help the situation by reducing the amount of time they take in the shower, for example - the four minute shower. They may want to switch to water efficiency fittings, if they haven't already. If you contact your local water company, they have a lot of water saving advice in the homes and in the gardens, you can apply for kits that can help you with water efficiencies, or indeed putting your washing machines on a lower cycle that uses less water.
"And then, watering your plant first thing in the morning or the last thing at night, not in the middle of the day where the water might be evaporated off. There are so many handy tips from Welsh Water and Water Wise - they are simple to do and will save water, not just now but for the future. It will also save money as well."
READ MORE: People in Wales asked to shower for no more than four minutes as drought nears
While some people argued that four minutes is not long enough to shower, others responded to the article with their own methods for saving water in the dry weather - with some tips coming from as far as Australia. Jodie-Marie Clark said that a four minute shower would not be long enough for her to wash her hair, writing on Facebook: "Ummm it takes me 10 mins to wash my hair! That won’t be happening in my house. Especially as it’s only a hose pipe ban in Pembs and Carms!"
Rebecca Gibbs similarly said that the time wouldn't be suitable for her, writing: "Four minutes for a shower! Takes at least 10 just to wet my thick hair!"
However, some people were in agreement of the advice to shower for just four minutes to save water. Facebook user Julia Trupp wrote: "The reservoirs are very low in Wales, we have not had any great amount of rain since April, the field are burnt. The people that selfishly talk about using it because they pay for it so why shouldn't they, need to realise that the dams hold back water for our use but they also have to let out water to keep the rivers running and the life in them alive."
She added for people to "please think of wildlife," writing: "Our brook is the lowest it has ever been, just a trickle of water now and yes when it starts to rain it probably won't stop for another 20 years! But please take some care we all like going into the countryside, please respect it too."
Kate Gullen was also in support of the suggestion, writing: "We are such an entitled society nowadays. Its not scaremongering or anything to do with money or paying bills. If we all do as we are asked there will be enough water. If not there may be no water when you turn on that shower!"
Some people suggested that leaking pipes should be fixed in order to make sure water was conserved, with Facebook user Wayne Carpenter writing: "Fix all your leaking pipes then we'll all have plenty of water." The latest data has revealed that Dwr Cymru Welsh Water lost 170 million litres of water every day for 2020-21.
The figures, collected by Ofwat, showed that on average all 17 water companies in the UK lose a combined total of 3.1 billion litres of water every single day - the equivalent of 1,180 Olympic swimming pools. Jo Herschell also mentioned a leak on her street that continued for hours.
"We have some sort of leak pumping out on our street. It was pumping out at 8am yesterday and still pumping out at 8pm yesterday. I appreciate that it may be challenging to fix or locate the problem but that is a massive loss of water compared to a pensioner watering their flowers or someone taking a 10 minute shower," she wrote.
She wasn't the only commenter who is experiencing water leaks. Sue Roper also said she has a leak on her street, writing: "Still have a water leak in my street, water poring down the road, it’s been like that for two weeks, if they don’t care why should we? There’s more water being wasted than I use in six months."
Others offered their own methods for saving water during the dry weather, with Pip Bentley writing: "Living in Australia we had years of showering with a bucket in the shower. Poured that water into the washing machine then the water from the washing machine pumped out onto the grass outside. Used heaps less water which also saved on our water bills."
Ann Clarke added that she "took the waste pipe off the washing machine to collect all the water for the garden. That was the best crop of vegetables we ever had. I continue to do this now and even my Mams hot water bottle gets emptied over the garden."
Ann Lock similarly remembers "watering the garden with washing up water and water I’d cooked veg in back in the summer of 1976. One day I made a mistake and threw a pan of oil from cooking chips over the garden!"
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