Promoting water conservation habits in shower use: review of water utility websites in OECD cities

ABSTRACT

Personal hygiene accounts for 30–45% of water use in households in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, and of this water, the greatest proportion is used for showering. More efficient showers can be achieved by using efficient technologies – mainly efficient showerheads – as well as through the adoption of sustainable habits, such as reducing shower frequency and duration. A review of the websites of water utilities in cities of OECD countries shows little effort to promote water-saving shower habits. Addressing this shortcoming would improve the sustainability of water use, compared with the current focus on efficient technologies.

KEYWORDS:

• water-saving tips
• water utilities
• water conservation
• OECD countries
• saving shower habits

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [grant number ECO2017-86822-R]; the Regional Government of Andalusia (Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo, Junta de Andalucía) and the ERDF [grant numbers P18-RT-576 and B-SEJ-018-UGR18], the University of Granada (Plan Propio. Unidad Científica de Excelencia: Desigualdad, Derechos Humanos y Sostenibilidad – DEHUSO) and the Spanish Aid Program for Predoctoral Contracts for University Teacher Training (FPU) 2019 of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades).