Well, well, well.

Ten things you might not know about water.

1. 70% of the earth is covered by water - but only 2.5% of it is fresh water. Less than 0.01% is easily accessible in lakes and rivers.

2. The amount of water on earth is fixed. It moves according to climate: rain falling in one place merely means that somewhere else has to go without.

3. Every day, UK water companies supply 18 billion litres of water.

4. In our grandparents' time an average family of four used 82 litres of water a day.

5. Today an average British family uses over 500 litres of water a day.

6. The top five uses of water in the home are: flushing the lavatory - 31%; washing machine - 20%; bath - 15%; kitchen sink - 15%; wash basin - 9%.

7. A shower uses as little as 30 litres - but a bath uses 80 litres.

8. A dishwasher uses 50 litres - but washing up by hand uses six litres.

9. Watering with a garden hose can use 1,000 litres an hour.

10. A dripping tap wastes 13 litres a day.