How Precious Is Water in Taiwan?

Taiwan has been hit by its worst drought in 67 years. Perhaps some people are curious about why Taiwan is suffering from water shortages when it rains so often. The culprit behind this is us, because where humans exist, water is wasted. According to the Water Resources Agency, the amount of water the average Taiwanese uses per day is 270 liters, most of which is attributed to bathrooms. When we shower, we use 15-25 liters of water per minute. So in other words it takes just a 20-minute shower to use up the total amount of water we should be using a day! Therefore, to fight water shortage, the first thing we should do is to make water conservation a priority and a daily part of our lives.

What Can YOU Do to Save Water?

You can start by saving water in your daily life. First, calculate the current water use in your home based on your monthly water bills and list the water consumption and frequency of usage of waterconsuming appliances at home. Secondly, set a water-use reduction goal for next month and establish your own water conservation plan to achieve it. Then, put your plan into action. For example, you can install low-flow faucet aerators and showerheads or replace your traditional toilet with a closecoupled toilet. You can install a rainwater tank for collecting and storing rainwater to reduce the use of faucets at home. Lastly, you can recycle and reuse water. Use water wisely because every drop counts.
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Water Saving Tips: In the Bathroom

What can we do to save water at home? Surveys show that most of the water consumed in the average home is used in the bathroom. Toilet flushing and showering each account for about a third of all household water usage. In other words, two-thirds of all water used at home goes down the bathroom drain! So, to save water at home, start from the bathroom.

Saving Water in the Bathroom

  • Replace traditional flush toilets with lowflush toilets or close-coupled toilets.
  • Put a glass canister or brick in your fullflush toilet tank to decrease the amount of water that flushes out.
  • Do not put cleaners and air fresheners in the toilet tank to prevent shut-off valve corrosion.
  • Install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators.
  • Always turn off faucets tightly to avoid dripping and install a spring-loadedshutoff valve for faucets.
  • Turn off faucets properly when brushing your teeth or applying soap; only turn it back on when needed.
  • Shorten showers to 5 minutes and use a low-flow showerhead to keep the water use below 30 liters.

Water Saving Tips at Home

Aside from the bathroom, kitchen, laundry, and garden water use should also be conserved. Here, we will share a few other ways to save water at home.

Kitchen

  • Wash dishes, food, and clothes in sinks filled with water instead of leaving the tap running.
  • Use the water you washed rice or cooked noodles with to wash your dishes.
  • Use the water you washed food, clothes, dishes, and bathed with to water flowers, wash your car, and clean the floor.

Laundry

  • Prevent from washing too many or too little clothes or dishes in the washing machine or dishwasher.
  • Reduce the amount of time spent washing different types of garments; for example, spend 5-10 minutes for knitwear, cotton and linen clothing and 12 minutes for dirtier clothes.
  • Use a semi or fully automatic washing machine to reduce water use and time.

Garden

  • Water plants and flowers in the morning or evening when the sun is not so strong to reduce the amount of water evaporating.
  • Cover gardens with grass stubble, bark, sawdust, or gravel to prevent soil water evaporation and soil erosion.
  • In winter, only water plants when there has been consecutive days of high temperature or during drought; in spring and autumn, most plants only need half of the water needed in summer.

References

Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs、Taiwan Water Corporation