Melbourne Water, a water supply company owned by the Victorian State Government, is encouraging Australian residents to create 10,000 rain gardens – and they’re already up to 7,804! A rain garden is a water-saving garden that is designed to capture stormwater from hard surfaces such as driveways, patios and roofs via downpipes after it rains. The water supply company has set up a website with information on designing, creating and caring for rain gardens – no previous experience necessary.

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Post tags: container gardening, eco gardening, Gardening, gardens, green garden, green gardening, landscape design, raingardens, rainwater collection system, rainwater runoff, water filtration, water issues, water saving, water use

Improving food security and availability is increasingly important as temperatures continue to rise, the population continues to grow and water becomes more precious. The focus often falls on techniques to increase crop yield or expand land use, but a recent study in the journal Science of the Total Environment focuses on a different factor: food waste. The study found that if we could just reduce food loss in the production chain by 50%, we could feed another one billion people with no other changes to food production.

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Post tags: Fertilizer use, food production, food supply, food waste, Global Food Chain, hunger, non-renewable resources, Water Resources, water use

Four Turkish university students have developed Washit, a shower unit that collects and filters used water for washing clothes or showering. Ahmet Burak Aktas, Adem Onalan, Salih Berk Ilhan and Burak Soylemez first started Washit as a university assignment, but they recently brought their project to a whole new level, winning the iF Concept Design Award 2012: Hansgrohe Special Award for their water-saving design.

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Post tags: "grey water reuse", Eco-friendly Washing Machines, Green Appliances, shower water use, student design, sustainable appliances, turkey, washing machine, washit, water use, Winner iF Design Award

Over 1 billion people live in areas where groundwater is disappearing faster than it can be replenished, according to a new study published in Nature. Groundwater serves as an important source of water for drinking and agriculture. However, the current rate of groundwater use in regions known for their agricultural production exceeds the ability to renew this precious resource.

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Post tags: Climate Change, data, drought and climate change, hydrologic model, McGill University, sustainable water resource management, uc irvine, underground aquifers, utrecht university, water use, water use agriculture

Hold on to your office chairs, research-loving infographic fans – we’ve got a doozy for you here. Researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands have compiled a report on the “water footprint of humanity” (from 1996 to 2005) that comes complete with comprehensive water consumption statistics for every country on Earth – including water consumed by industry. The researchers found that 92% of freshwater use is in the agricultural industry, that the United States (with 3% of the world’s population) is the third-largest water consumer, and that 1/5 of water used on Earth is for products exported out of the country where they are made or grown. The report also comes complete with water pollution data, some interesting infographics, and it’s accompanied by a “product gallery” where you can see how much water goes into the production of say, a a cup of tea. When you add up all the water needed to make food, energy and other products, the average person on the planet Earth uses an incredible 1,056 gallons of water per day — that’s enough to fill up 21 standard bath tubs.

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Post tags: drinking water, freshwater, freshwater resources, home water use, united states water use, water consumption, water issues, water levels, water pollution, water scarcity, water use, water use agriculture, water use per capita, water use production, world water consumption, world water use

Read the rest of Waving Wall: Massive Recycled Bottle Installation Shows the Virtual Water Footprint of Two Pairs of Jeans

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Post tags: Art, Chalkwell britain, embbeded water, public art, public art installation, Recycled Water bottles, Urban design, water consciousness, water issues, water use