Sharjah resident Appley Groch has set herself an extreme challenge. As The National reported yesterday, the Australian teacher aims to cut her water use from 180 litres a day to just 30 litres a day for 30 days. To do that, she will have to spend no more than a minute under the shower – and collect the waste water to flush the toilet and water her plants. A further five litres will be put aside for drinking and cooking, with the rest devoted to washing dishes and her clothes.
Ms Groch’s charity challenge is highlighting a problem that effects us all. The average resident uses 550 litres of water a day – an unsustainable amount in a country where potable water comes from the expensive and energy-hungry desalination process.
Perhaps with the help of household meters, we should all be aware of our water use and take steps to limit it. While we should avoid extreme measures – keeping well hydrated is, of course, essential in the summer – we can all learn from Ms Groch’s example.
