As the days become cooler, it’s tempting to spend more time in the shower. Did you know that every extra minute spent in the shower uses 12 litres of water?
Tauranga City Council acting water services manager Barry Sarjeant has some top tips for reducing the time you spend in the shower so you can save on water and shower bills this winter.
“This extra minute does soon add up when you consider the cost of power and the number of showers taken each day. Four minutes is the recommended water-wise shower time,” says Barry.
“In my home, we’ve installed a water efficient showerhead. This, along with keeping an eye on how long we spend in the shower, has not only conserved water but has cut our water and heating bills too.
“Tauranga residents can take part in our free showerhead exchange programme by swapping old inefficient showerheads for a brand-new water efficient model.”
In winter we use, on average, 180 litres of water per person per day – that’s 18 ten-litre buckets!
If you really want to be water-wise, a great way to make every drop count is to put a bucket in the shower while waiting for it to heat up to use on your pot plants.
“It’s important we’re mindful of our water use, whatever the weather,” says Barry. “Check out the Water Watchers Plan on the council website before turning the tap. You’ve been making every drop count, and it shows. Our precious water supply is in good shape as we head into winter.”
Visit: www.tauranga.govt.nz/savingwater to learn more about the showerhead exchange programme and to request a free water-saving shower kit.
3 comments
Shower Water
Posted on 09-06-2024 08:02 | By Sycamore2
4 minutes per shower, It takes that long for the hot water to get to the shower head from the water heater!
Well we’ll…
Posted on 09-06-2024 11:58 | By Shadow1
to put it in perspective, the extra 2 minutes will cost about 8 cents. Not a huge price for a bit longer in the shower in Winter. I guess Barry will want us to only flush the toilet once a day or stop washing our hands. He should be working on ways to put council’s budgets into increasing the amount of water storage instead of the nonsensical upgrade of city buildings and the never ending number of playgrounds we are funding. Or perhaps trying to reduce the number of new residents who also have to consume a finite amount of water.
Shadow1
Don't raise the bridge; lower the river!
Posted on 09-06-2024 14:18 | By morepork
I seriously doubt that MY shower uses 11 litres a minute, but, leaving that aside, what if it does? Don't I pay for the water? And isn't personal hygiene an appropriate use of it? Ah, but there may not be enough water. Well, get some more! Rather than rationing what we have, if you are determined to let Tauranga grow, and you are concerned about the water, then install a desalination plant that can do around 80 million litres per day (we average 60 million at the moment) and consider the problem solved (summer & winter) for the foreseeable future. It will cost around $90 million, but will pay for itself without increasing water charges over 5 years, and, in the light of existing vanity projects that are being pursued, $90 million is less than a quarter of Tolley's Folly.
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