With the school holidays looming and one of the hottest Junes on record behind us, the Environment Agency is urging people to use water wisely in the home and garden.

While groundwater and river levels are relatively healthy at the moment, meaning that we would need a prolonged dry period before the threat of drought, water is a finite resource and long-term protection of it is a must.

Water use in the home and garden is always higher in summer as hotter weather means watering gardens, filling paddling pools and putting extra loads of washing due to having the children at home all day. Balancing supply and demand in the summer months can be a precarious business, but everyone can do his or her bit to protect the environment.

Garden sprinklers use as much water in an hour as a family of four uses in a week and should be avoided. Over watering can lead to shallow roots, whereas leaving the grass a minimum of 3cm long helps it retain its moisture and means that the lawn can usually be catered for by rainwater collected in a water butt.

"We’re certainly not saying that people shouldn’t be having fun with water in the summer months or that they should not address their needs," said Environment Agency Water Efficiency expert, David Howarth.

"There are lots of things that we can do to stop wasting this precious resource – something as simple as a family of four turning off the tap while they clean their teeth can save the equivalent of half a bath-full of water a week."

Every person in the UK uses an average of 150 litres of water per day, a third of which is flushed down the toilet. Low flush toilets are available on the market, but something as simple as putting a filled bottle or cistern displacement device such as a Hippo or Save-a-Flush in the loo can save over a litre of clean water every time the toilet is used.

The amount of water we use is increasing year on year and in some parts of the country the situation is simply not sustainable. Threat of pollution, climate change, change of land use and a growing population all contribute to increased pressure on the water environment.

"Few people realise that despite the perception that we live in a wet climate, person for person we have less water than countries such as Spain and Syria," said Mr Howarth.

"It’s all too easy to take water for granted but life without it would be impossible. Whether it’s the clean drinking water upon which we depend for survival, or the healthy rivers and oceans needed to support animals, birds and fish, the protection of our water resource is of fundamental importance."

Simple steps advised by the Agency include:

In the home….

• Wash vegetables and fruit in a bowl rather than under the tap – leftover water can be used for watering house plants.
• Try keeping a bottle or jug of water in the fridge instead of running taps until the water is cold.
• Make sure that washing machines and dishwashers are full before switching them on.
• Reduce the amount of clean water flushed down the toilet by putting a cistern displacement device such as a Hippo, Save-a-Flush or filled drinks bottle in the cistern – these are usually available free of charge from your water company.
• Cotton wool and tissues should be put in a waste bin rather than flushed down the toilet.

In the garden….

• Water plants in the cool of the early morning or evening to reduce evaporation losses.
• Rainwater is beneficial to plants – install a water butt to collect rainwater from your guttering.
• Where growing conditions allow, plant flowers and shrubs which thrive in hot and dry conditions such as thyme, evening primrose, rock rose, Californian poppy, lavender, buddleia and hebe.
• Mulches such as wood chips, bark and gravel help to prevent water evaporation and also suppress weed growth.
• Garden sprinklers can use as much water in an hour as a family of four uses in a whole day – think twice before using one.