We need to save water
There is less water than normal in Oslo’s reservoirs. There is no risk of the water in our taps running out, but to avoid water shortages, we need your help.
PRESS RELEASE, The City of Oslo, 1 June 2022, updated 11 August 2022:
We are asking you to save water where you can, so that you and everyone else in the city can continue to use water for the most important things in life.
What you can do
- Take shorter showers and turn off the water while applying soap or shampoo.
- Don’t leave the water running when you are brushing your teeth.
- Use the eco-program on your dishwasher.
- Only use your washing machine when you have a full load.
- Use the “small” button to flush your toilet.
- Keep a jug of water in your fridge, so you don’t have to let the water run to get cold.
- Don’t water your lawns. It doesn’t matter if the grass goes a bit yellow. It will survive.
- Use a watering can to water flowers and plants in your garden.
- Don’t wash your car more than you need to.
- These are simple measures you can take each day that will have a big effect on the overall picture.
These are simple measures you can take each day that will have a big effect on the overall picture.
Just take a look at these simple calculations:
- When showering, you use about 12 litres of water per minute. By reducing the time from ten to five minutes, you can save 22,000 litres of water every year. If everyone is Oslo did the same, we would save 15.4 billion litres of water each year.
- Each time you brush your teeth, you use around 19 litres of water if you let the water run. If you turn the water off while brushing, you can save around 13,800 litres of water every year. If everyone did this, we would save 9.6 billion litres of water each year.
- A water sprinkler uses between 1,000 and 1,500 litres of water per hour. This means that in one hour a typical water sprinkler uses roughly the same amount of water as 10 people use in a whole day. If you leave the same sprinkler on for a whole day, it will use as much water as 240 people in the same amount of time.
The City of Oslo is also implementing a number of measures to cut water consumption. You can read more about these measures below.
Saving water is good for the planet and for your wallet
There are many good reasons for saving water:
- It is good for the environment to make savings where we can.
- A lot of work goes into getting water into your taps.
- Producing clean water requires the use of chemicals, electricity and energy.
- Transporting the water to your home is an energy-intensive process.
- Much of the water we use is heated, which means that if you save on hot water, you will also save on your electricity bill.
Join in the communal effort – do it for Oslo!
Water is our most important nutrient and vital for all life. Along with electricity, water is the very foundation of any society. Without it, everything else stops. Oslo’s water supply is vulnerable, especially during long droughts. The situation is not yet critical, but if we do not receive more precipitation in the time ahead, our water reservoirs will continue to decline. Then we will have to introduce stricter restrictions on water use. Naturally we want to avoid this.
Many municipalities have already introduced such measures. In the meantime, the City of Oslo has cut its own water consumption. We are using much less water than normal to give our streets and pavements their annual spring clean. We have stopped hosing down Karl Johansgate each day. We are not washing our buses as often as we usually do and we are leaving several of the city’s fountains dry.
So please join us in saving water! Do it for Oslo!
PRESS RELEASE, The City of Oslo, 1 June 2022, updated 11 August 2022.