Download - Tom Barrett waterwise assignment
Saving Our Future
By Tom Barrett
“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” Thomas Fuller (1732)
The Investigation
The purpose of this investigation is to see how much water my family uses on a daily basis and how our consumption can be reduced.
Steps involved
1. measure water consumption morning, afternoon and evening
2. design an action plan to reduce water consumption
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of the action plan
Data collection
The typical times I collected water readings were:
Morning reading = 8:15am
Afternoon reading = 3:20pm
Evening reading = 8:30pm
INITIAL 7 days
1 2 3 4 5 6 70
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Morning usage Afternoon usage Night usage
Consumption in liters
DAY
How my INITIAL data informed our action plan
In the initial week I noticed the greatest water usage was is in the afternoon-night. During the day no one is home. The family all shower in the evening and the dishwasher is also used in the evening.
Our water usage increased significantly on the weekend. Saturday is “wash day” and several loads are done. Our water usage spiked on Saturday.
action planMy action plan entailed:
Use a timer to reduce shower times
Use buckets in the shower to collect water for the garden
To run the dish washer less often and only when full
Run the washing machine only on the weekend when there is a full load, small items would be hand washed.
What my family thought about my plan
Water conservation has always been a priority in my family so my family were ready for the challenge.
My parents lived on a farm where the only water was gathered from the rainwater tanks
As a result mum and dad have always been aware of the need to conserve water and use it wisely
Therefore everyone was happy comply
Our official water usage
I don’t know if this is because there are quite a few units and town houses in the area that share a garden and generally are occupied by singles and couples but not families with kids.
Our excess water bill is always lower than our friends though according to our recent bill, we are above the average usage for Shenton Park.
What I expect the outcome of the action plan might be
I think my plan will work as we have always tried to conserve water.
However, the real test will come in the summer months when we run the reticulation.
Data collected during the 14 day action plan
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 140
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Morning usage Afternoon usage Night usage
Consumption in liters
DAY
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 140
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Morning usage Afternoon usage Night usage
Consumption in liters
DAY
Data collected during the action plan
How effective my plan wasThe plan did seem to work except our water
usage was not significantly lower because we have always been quite conscious of our water use.
I suspect that the action plan would have really been put to the test had measurements been taken during the summer months when we are allowed to use our reticulation.
How easy the plan was to implement.
Measuring our water use has made us more aware of the huge amount of water we still use. As family we have started to think of ways that we can further reduce our usage.
Future plansThis assignment got the whole family talking about
water usage. Ideas we discussed were:
Re-use the grey water from the washing machine. This will require a filter system and some expert advice. (Neighbour has a company designed to conserve water)
Re-direct the water from our evaporative air-conditioner into the garden
Install a rain water tank
What I learntSmall changes in our water usage can add up to
much bigger changes.
If the water my family saved was multiplied by every member in my class, the savings can be enormous.