The Lazy Person’s Guide to Saving Water

Everyone can do their part to reverse the degradation of water sources. Every human on earth can be part of the solution. Here are a few simple actions that can make a big difference in protecting our water. 

LEVEL 1: Things You Can Do From Your Couch

💧Turn off sleeping tech. Currently, 90% of power generation is water intensive. Turning off our devices when we're not using them means less energy needs to be produced. 

💧Build pressure. Write to elected representatives about budgets for improving water at home and abroad. 

💧Create your action list – choose and share what you are going to do to help solve the water and sanitation crisis. 

💧Use your social media voice. Amplify messages to generate debate and raise awareness.

💧Shop sustainably. A typical pair of jeans takes 10,000 liters of water to produce, equal to what a person drinks in 10 years. 

LEVEL 2: Things You Can Do From Home

💧Take five-minute showers. With 44% of household wastewater not being safely treated, taking shorter showers is a great way to save this precious resource. 

💧Flush safe. Fix leaking water and waste pipes, empty full septic tanks and report dumping of sludge. 

💧Stop polluting. Don’t put food waste, oils, medicines and chemicals down the toilet or drains.

💧Don’t throw away edible food. An estimated 1/3 of all food produced globally is lost or goes to waste. Reducing your food wastage reduces demand on agriculture, which is one of the biggest water consumers. So, reduce food waste and save water. 

 LEVEL 3: Things You Can Do In Your Neighborhood

💧Take part in clean-ups of your local rivers, lakes, wetlands or beaches. 

💧Protect nature. Plant a tree or create a rain garden – use natural solutions to reduce the risk of flooding and store water. 

💧Be curious. Find out where your water comes from and how it is shared and visit a treatment plant to see how local waste is managed. 

💧Host a concert or play a sports event to draw attention to local water and sanitation issues.   

LEVEL 4: Things You Can Do At Work

💧Break taboos. Talk about the critical connection between toilets, water and menstruation. 

💧Choose a plant-based meal. It typically takes between 3,000 and 5,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of rice, 2,000 liters for 1kg of soya, 900 liters for 1kg of wheat and 500 liters for 1kg of potatoes.  

💧If you are a teacher or student, organize/propose a lesson on water or get the whole school involved in water and sanitation-themed activities.