Monthly water bill of S$20 possible in household of 4

I refer to the letter “Saving water is everyone’s moral duty” (March 15), as well as previous letters on the topic. I totally agree with the writer that it is up to each and every one of us to do our part in not wasting water, as well as to inculcate the habit in our children by example.

We should always be mindful of how we are using water and if we could use less — for instance, using shorter washing machine cycles, leaving clothes to soak, and re-using water wherever possible.

Our household consists of three adults and a toddler, and our water bill is always below S$20 per month, while using what I would call a moderate amount. So it is hard to imagine how some water bills can reach as much as S$50 per month per household.

However, I do feel that the lack of awareness of water conservation is closely connected with low recycling rates and other types of wastage, as has been expressed by other writers previously. If “re-use, reduce, recycle” becomes part of our daily life, carrying this through to water use will become an almost automatic act.

The recent eye-opening TV series on Channel NewsAsia, “Trash Trail”, further illustrates this, and should be a wake-up call against other forms of wastage, too.

It is also helpful to remember that millions of people don’t have what we take for granted, and so it becomes even more precious.