Fomca president Datuk N.Marimuthu said a consumer needed only 80 litres of water a day, including three litres for drinking, to sustain a reasonable quality of living.
He said with water conservation, each person could save up to 135 litres of water a day.
“If all the conservation measures are implemented, then consumers can save up to 28.2 cubic metres per household. This translates into a savings of RM18.33 a month.” Fomca did a background study on the uses of water in houses. It then designed a questionnaire for respondents to see how they used water in their homes.
The areas identified were faucets, toilets, showers, washing machines, cooking, interior and exterior cleaning, vehicle washing and gardening.
Fomca also conducted an opinion study to see what households thought of treated water. The study covered 1,792 households in the country.
The study found that 70 per cent of the households looked for leaks, but almost 50 per cent rarely did or did nothing to fix the leaks.
Marimuthu said many developed countries had dual water supply, that is, for potable and non-potable use, such as flushing toilets and washing cars.
“It is a pity that Malaysians use treated water to flush toilets.” He said a dual-flush system for toilets could reduce 30 to 60 per cent of water usage.
However, the study found that 70 per cent of households did not have dual-flush systems, and more than 70 per cent did not use rainwater or recycled water (such as water from the last rinse of clothes) to flush toilets.
Marimuthu added that studies in the United States had shown that a four-minute shower using an old shower head used 75 litres of water per shower, while a low-flow shower head used 37 litres of water per shower.
The study found that 40 per cent of households did not use controlled shower heads.
Marimuthu said front-loading washing machines used less water than top-loading ones but only 20 per cent of the households surveyed used front-loading machines.
The study found that 80 per cent of households did not collect rainwater for gardening, nor did they use watering cans or hoses with controlled heads.
“What is shocking is that 70 per cent of those surveyed said they were not likely or not very likely to reduce water usage in their homes in the next three years.
“A study by the Economic Planning Unit foresees a water crisis in Selangor and other industrial states in the peninsula in 2014.” The study found that 42 per cent agreed that water was unlimited and that 80 per cent did not know which river or reservoir their water supply came from.
Marimuthu said: “It shows that people do not know their water service infrastructure and the seriousness of an impending water crisis.
“They know there are some problems but they aren’t doing anything about it.