Smarter choices helping our community save water

Story sponsored by Hunter Water.

Hunter Water is calling on the Lower Hunter community to make smart water choices in their everyday lives, to help save our precious resource this spring and summer.

These permanent water conservation measures replace Level 1 water restrictions from October 1, and include only watering outdoors with a trigger nozzle hose before 10am and after 4pm and not hosing hard surfaces.

"Since water restrictions were introduced almost a year ago, Lower Hunter residents have used on average 15 per cent less water than we expected, which is equivalent to saving the water use of 52,000 households," Hunter Water Managing Director Darren Cleary said.

"While this is welcome news, we can't lose sight of the lessons from the severe drought and return to past water use habits," he continued.

"I'm pleased that so many people across the region have adopted the new habits brought on by water restrictions and it makes sense for them to continue these behaviours in their daily routines to help save our precious resource."

Watering your garden before 10am and after 4pm is a smart water choice, which can help save bucket loads of water. By avoiding the hottest parts of the day, it means less water evaporates and more is reaching your plants.

Using a trigger nozzle is another smart water choice that's easy to make. Trigger nozzles provide more control over the water flow of your hose so less water is wasted when watering your garden. Trigger nozzles can be purchased from your local hardware store for under $10.

And finally, make the smart choice to sweep your driveway, deck or paths. By swapping your hose for a broom or leaf blower, you'll save buckets of water from being washed down the drain. A bucket and a sponge come in handy for spot cleaning stubborn marks from these areas.

For more information on how you can make smart water choices, visit www.hunterwater.com.au/smartchoices

Reducing your shower time is one of the easiest and most effective ways to save water in your home, with showers making up more than a third of our daily water usage.

Every minute less is a bucket of water saved so we recommend showering for 4 minutes or the length of your favourite song.

Another simple choice is to wait for a full load before using your dishwasher and washing machine.

Fixing dripping taps and leaking toilets, can also add up to some big water savings. A few drips from a tap might not seem like much, but over the course of a few days or months, it's easy to see how precious those few drops are.

With National Water Week approaching on 19 October, culminating in the first ever Love Water Day, now's the perfect time to embrace smart water choices, and start making simple water saving changes inside your home. Now and forever, let's love water together.

For more easy ways to love water all year round, visit www.hunterwater.com.au/lovewater

Story sponsored by Hunter Water.