Ways to live ecologically: Save Water!

(Caritas Luxembourg)

Water and electricity come to us from taps respectively from sockets, 24 hours a day, and this with consistent quality of service. Many people do not know how much water and electricity cost. The price of course depends on the quantity you consume. The less you consume the more money you save!

1. Save water!

In the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, each resident consumes about 170 litres of potable water per day. European directives have forced municipalities to charge the actual costs for the production of drinking water, thereby triggering a price increase. Notwithstanding these developments, we often take little account of these expenses because they represent only a small part of our budget.

However, the relatively high price is not the only problem. In Luxembourg, the water supply is becoming increasingly difficult. Nowadays you have

to go much deeper to dug new wells where to take underground water from. Especially in the summer, some communities can no longer provide enough clean water for their inhabitants.

Be aware that waste is a huge source of water. Saving water is necessary to secure our future needs and to stabilise the natural water cycle. We need water to live healthy!

There are three ways to save water:

1. Reduce the consumption! You can e.g.:

• Shower instead of bathing
• Close the tap when brushing teeth or shaving
• Install cheap flow regulators on your faucets

2. Keep the water cleaner! You pollute less wastewater by using biodegradable cleaning products.

Remember also the so-called "virtual water"! Many of the products we buy here come from abroad and require a lot of water during their production. Did you know that for the production of a T-shirt you need about 2,000 litres of water? For more information see:

www.waterfootprint.org

3. Tap water in Luxembourg is always drinking water. Drink tap water! It is cheaper than bottled water, causing less packaging waste and is always available.
Almost every water supplier provides information for consumers and educational materials for students are available as well.