Fiona Rossiter

Fiona Rossiter, an Orange City Councillor is a mother of six children aged from eight months to eighteen years. Fiona and her husband Paul have devised a number of simple but effective ways to save on water usage, and therefore costs, at their home. They discovered an old well on their property and are now hoping to strengthen it so it too can be used as a water supply.

"I say to my children water is like liquid money: if you don’t preserve it, it's literally down the drain."

These are the things our family does to save water:

• When we use the laundry sink, water falls in a bucket and is used in the washing machine.
• We only use the washing machine when we have a full load.
• We turn off the taps while brushing our teeth.
• Bath water is re-used.

• We have water-saving showerheads, obtained via a free exchange system through Orange City Council.
• We have buckets in showers.
• An egg timer times water use.
• We flush toilets as little as possible through the night.
• A rainwater tank is installed and we're considering installing another one.
• We have a drip irrigation system in the garden which runs off the water tank.
• We use mulch and water crystals in the garden.
• We wash the cars on the lawn or with a bucket or use a car wash which uses recycled water.
• We sweep the driveway rather than hose it down.
• We are looking into options to use the water from backwashing the swimming pool.
• We are looking into putting in a tank to collect and recycle the 'grey' water.
• We are having rings installed in the old well so it can be used again.

I say to my children water is like liquid money: if you don't preserve it, it's literally down the drain.

We were thinking about conserving water before 'user pays' came in because we’re real 'greens'. For us it's all about the children’s future and not using all the money you earn on paying bills.