Sustainable Home Guidelines

Water

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Introduction (Size 10K)
We tend to take water for granted as an unlimited resource. Yet, if Aucklanders continue with this attitude we will need to build a number of new facilities.

Heating water (Size 611K)
Water heating probably accounts for 45% of your annual household energy use.  Most of us have electric storage hot water systems, which are often inefficient and wasteful.

Saving water (Size 99K)
We waste an enormous amount of quality drinking water. The average three-person household in Waitakere City uses about 485 litres of water per day.

Using rainwater (Size 189K)
IWe collect rainwater from a relatively small area and distribute it over the entire urban area of the city.

Wastewater (Size 246K )
Wastewater is the water we dispose of from our homes, offices and industry. It comes from toilets, sinks, showers, washing machines and industrial processes and was historically called sewage.

Gardening with water (Size 198K)
This section offer some simple tips on how to manage your garden and lawns for dry periods, which plants can cope best, and how to manage an irrigation system (if you must).