I read my water bill this morning. Around $80 for three months, as usual. I then noticed that we have been using almost exactly 300 liters per day for more than a year – 300, 297, 298, etc. Before we installed a dual-flush toilet in one of the bathrooms, the daily average was slightly higher.

300L sounds like a lot. I mean, it is. But it’s only 150L/day per person. The average American uses nearly 600L/day. The average Canadian uses 325L/day, and we are using about half that. I still want to cut down though.

Cutting Down
I want to install dual-flush toilets in the other three bathrooms, or at least put something in the tanks to make them use less water per flush. Other than that, I really don’t know how we can cut down. We always fill the dishwasher and try to refrain from running the water when washing single dishes, or brushing our teeth. My showers are always under 10mins, though the same can’t be said of Amber… *cough* We have low-flow shower heads in both showers. Our outside tap is currently broken, so we haven’t been using a lot of water to wash our car or water our lawn. Maybe I should just be happy with 300L/day?

vs. Bottled Water
Another thing that struck me was the cost. 300L/day for 90 days costs us $80. That’s $0.89 per day, or $0.003 per litre. Let’s compare that to bottled water. A 591mL bottle is usually $2, or $3.38 per litre (I’m using 591mL as the example because that’s what the majority of people buy, especially from vending machines).

When you buy a bottle of water, you are paying 1,126 times more than you would if you just filled up a bottle at home.

So, here’s to cutting down on water usage, and not buying bottled water.

Unfortunately, I’m sure it won’t be long before other countries start invading Canada for our fresh water supply…