Save water, Save Money

While Singapore is an island, water security has remained a huge concern for our existence. Late Mr Lee Kuan Yew recognised this and once said: "Water dominated every other policy. Every other policy had to bend at the knees for water survival." 

Water and electricity are the two main cost components of our monthly utility bill in Singapore. I will share tips on using water efficiently and more on electricity saving tips in another post. 

Our government has tried to build up our water supplies sources (currently four sources- Local catchment, imported water, NEWATER and Desalinated water) and also raise awareness of this vulnerability though its pricing (up up and up) of water. With the recent tariff increase in July 2018, the average household living in a public flat will pay roughly $9 to $15 more monthly.

Like many other government policies, while we are unable to change them, we can tweak our behaviour to adapt accordingly. I am what economists would call a rational entity (or i like to think so), so Singapore's government policies, which are often based on incentives (or sticks sometimes) to tweak behaviours, would work for people like me. 😋

So how do we save money when price of water is going up? We can try to use less. To see how we can use less, we should first consider our main water usage areas in a typical household. 

Credits to PUB who have done up excellent info graphics and tips on water saving.

The biggest "drinkers" in our homes are the shower, laundry, kitchen and flushing. In these areas, PUB has estimated we could possibly save ~140L a day if we took shorter showers, use a mug when brushing teeth, half flush, use containers when washing vegetables and buy a water efficient washing machine. 

So how much is 140L anyway? A typically bathtub can hold 80 litres of water, so 140L is about slightly more than 1.5 bathtubs of water, or if you could imagine, approx SEVEN cartons of 12*1.5L Ice Mountain Pure drinking water. I did a double take on the figure of 140L a day and checked again. 140L is based on the assumption you use the washing machine everyday which not many people do. Otherwise, the other activities are pretty much daily. 

Credits: Redmart

And if we really do save 140L water a day, how much money could we potentially save? 

Credits: PUB

Most typical households (perhaps excluding landed houses) should fall within the 0-40 cubic meter tier so it should should be $2.74 per 1000 litres (post July 2018). 

If we saved 140L a day, that is approx 140*28 days = 3920L saved a month. It will translate to about $10.70 saved monthly which is about $128 a year, which i think is pretty decent for simple tweaks to your lifestyle and buying habits. 

In addition to PUB tips, additional water saving tips include:

• Check for leaky taps/ pipes / toilet. While it may seem like a few drops to you when you see it, it is still constantly dripping when you are NOT seeing it. Little wastage like these will add up! If you do not know how to DIY repair, hire a plumber, it will be cheaper in the long run.
• Use water which you used to wash your vegetables to water your plants thereafter. 
• Defrost frozen items in large bowls of water and not run them under the tap. 
• For parents with babies, babies' bath tub water could be used as mop water thereafter since babies do not get that dirty after all. 👶
• Buy a front load washing machine rather than a top load. While front load washing machines are sometimes more expensive, they should pay off in the long run as they use less water for each wash.
• Use the washing machine only with full load.
• Get a lower capacity toilet bowl or one with dual flush.
• Choose Low-Flow Bathroom Fittings, cos low flow = low wastage
• Install water thimbles for your taps and shower heads (these are available free from PUB). They are really easy to install and are reported to reduce as much as 5% of your monthly water consumption.

Small changes everyday can and will significantly impact your water consumption. 

If you have additional water saving tips, do share them in the comments section. 

Save your water and money today! 


Frugal Singa