Up-to-date information on Menorca, issued by the Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia, shows 35% less annual rainfall than in the previous years. This means that, in spite of the recent torrential rains, there is still a prospect of local shortages by the end of the summer. The time to do something about is NOW.

Saving water at home is not difficult and every drop counts. Here's how to help safeguard your future supply (and to save money at the same time!)

For those who have a metered supply, first check your present consumption from your latest water bill. This will show the actual consumption in cubic meters (1 m³ = 1,000 Litres), and the starting and finishing dates of the period concerned. If you then divide the consumption in litres by the number of dayus in the period you get your average daily consumption in litres per day. Finally, divide this figure by the number of persons on the household any you have the all-important index, Litres per person per day (l.p.p.d.). For this purpose children count as persons.

If your answer comes to around 200 l.p.p.d. there is a big saving to be made. If you follow the steps listed below you can get it down to under 100 l.p.p.d. and keep it there. If you have no meter you will still help by following the suggestions below.

• Check for leaks. Make a visual check of all taps and cisterns and correct any leaks found. Then keep everything turned off for, say, 2 hours and note the meter reading at the beginning and end of the period. Any difference shows the level of leaks, hopefully zero.

• The toilet. These usually create the biggest part of household consumption and, uncontrolled, can account for as much as 100 l.p.p.d. (up to 10 pulls per day at 10 litres per pull). You can reduce the litres per pull by putting a brick or a bottle full of water in the cistern ut take care it doesn't affect the mechanism. The biggest potential of all for savings is the reduction of pulls per person per day. Obviously one pulls every time for solids but otherwise, pull only when the water in the loo is unacceptably discoloured.

• Bath / Showers. A bath needs some 50 litres a time to be practical, and more for a wallow. A shower is a much more efficient use of water provided you do not leave the shower turned on while you do other things (e.g. lloking for the soap, etc.). Turn the shower off while you apply soap, and 20 litres per occasion is a reasonable target.

• Wash basins. A general rule for economy in water is always to put the plug in place before turning on the tap and to leave it there until the water has been used as fully as possible. In that way the effect of leaving a tap running becomes visible very quickly.

• Washing machines. Domestic machines use some 80-100 litres per load. Always use full loads whenever possible. The "half washes" do not necessarily use half the full-load quantity of water (75% is a common figure).

• Floors and other general cleaning. Think about the possibility of substituting sweeping in place of wet mopping. Equally, your frequence of mopping might be reduced and still give a satisfactory standard of cleaning.

• The kitchen sink. Treat as for wash-basin (see above) and leave the plug in or use a basin

• The garden and the lawn. Do not use a sprinkler in sunlight -evaporation losses are high. Think about the possibility (and advisability) of re-using water from the house (shower, bath, washing machine, etc.)

Performing the above practices requires changes in personal habits and needs to be accepted and implemented by every member of the household (including children). As a result, the introduction of the changes needs careful organization. Start with one change at a time and, if you have a meter, check the reading weekly to ensure that the expected savings are taking place.

We have been operating this scheme for some years and would welcome any comments, queries or news from readers.