Ask Australians whether they're doing enough to save water and most will say yes. Ask what they've actually done about it, and the picture changes. That's the central finding of Weathering the Dry: Australian Water Research 2026, released by The Water Conservancy for National Water Week. The survey of 1,012 Australians found confidence is running well ahead of understanding, just as the country heads into what could be the strongest El Niño on record.
Here's what the research found, and what it means for your home this summer.
Key findings at a glance
- 58% of Australians think they're doing enough to save water.
- 35% know what a super El Niño is and what it means for them.
- 185 litres is the median Australian's daily water use, yet 30% think they use under 50
- litres.
- 48% have fitted a water-saving showerhead or tap aerator, and 42% have mulched their
- garden.
- 29% collect and reuse household water.
- 7.3 minutes is the average shower, up from 6.7 minutes in 2025. For 18 to 34 year olds, it's 9.3 minutes.
- 63% put saving money on bills in their top three reasons to save water.
What is a super El Niño, and why does it matter?
El Niño is a shift in Pacific Ocean temperatures that usually brings hotter, drier conditions to much of Australia. A super El Niño is a stronger version of the same pattern. The Bureau ofMeteorology describes the current event as strong and still strengthening, and expects it to last into autumn 2027.
Yet only 35% of Australians understand what a super El Niño means for them, and almost half don't recognise the term at all. That matters because most of us use water on autopilot. We run the shower and water the garden out of routine, and in a dry summer those routines tend to increase just as rainfall drops. Each wet spell makes water feel plentiful again, so habits rarely change before the next dry spell arrives.
The 185-litre gap: do we know our own numbers?
The median Australian uses around 185 litres of water a day, based on data from 78 Australian water utilities. Almost a third of us (30%) think we use less than 50 litres, about a quarter of the real figure. More than half (57%) guess under 100 litres. As the report puts it, nobody watches their water meter while they shower or water the garden, so most people are estimating in the dark.
This feeds a stubborn gap between attitudes and actions. In 2019, 54% of Australians said they were doing all they could to save water. In 2026, 58% believe they're doing enough.
Meanwhile, fewer than half have fitted a water-saving showerhead (48%) or bought water-efficient appliances (43%), and fewer than three in ten collect and reuse household water (29%).
If we believe we're already doing enough, we're unlikely to try to do more.
Our showers are getting longer
Showering is the habit most Australians name as their biggest water use, and the one they find hardest to give up. The average shower has grown from 6.7 minutes in 2025 to 7.3 minutes in 2026.
Part of the reason is the rise of the "everything shower", which combines washing, shaving, hair treatments, exfoliation and self-care into one long session. The comfort is felt immediately, while the water and energy costs stay out of sight. Longer showers also use more energy, because most shower water is heated. Research from 2024 found 77% of Australians didn't know water heating is a major source of household greenhouse gas emissions.
Experience shapes habits: the generational gap
Younger Australians come out behind on most measures, but not because they care less. 71% of 18 to 34 year olds are concerned about climate change, compared with 67% nationally. The difference is experience: over-55s grew up with water restrictions and buckets by the shower, while most people under 35 haven't lived through that yet. The gap shows up clearly in the numbers. 29% of 18 to 34 year olds wrongly believe rain means there's no drought, against 16% of over-55s. Only 28% have fitted a water-saving showerhead or tap aerator, against 65% of over-55s. Their showers average 9.3 minutes, almost four minutes longer than the 5.5 minutes of over-55s.
There's good news too. Among younger Australians who haven't yet fitted a water-saving showerhead, 42% plan to. Water literacy overall has slipped, with 22% of Australians now wrongly believing rain means there's no drought, up from 17% last year.
In the garden: watering more when it matters most
About 80% of Australians water a garden or lawn. Among them, 46% water at least 30% more often in hot, dry weather, rising to 59% of 18 to 34 year olds. Demand surges at exactly the moment supplies come under pressure. Timing matters too. Watering at midday or in the afternoon means more water evaporates before it reaches the roots. 55% of younger gardeners water at these hotter times, while 76% of over-55s stick to early morning or evening. Mulch is one of the cheapest ways to cut evaporation, yet only 42% of households have added it.
Renters and homeowners
About three in ten Australian households rent, and renters have made fewer water-saving changes. 30% of renters have fitted a water-saving showerhead or tap aerator, against 54% of homeowners. For mulch, it's 28% against 47%. The report suggests owners and tenants work together. A landlord who fits a water-efficient showerhead or adds mulch can improve efficiency at little cost, and tenants benefit from lower water and energy use.
The double win: saving water saves money
Money is the clearest motivator. 63% of Australians put saving money on bills in their top three reasons to save more water, well ahead of helping the environment (36%) and protecting future water supply (33%). Water savings are also energy savings. The Australian Government estimates that 65% of the bill savings from water-efficient products come from lower electricity and gas costs, because less water needs heating. A shorter shower saves on two bills at once.
Small habits, big impact: what you can do this summer
- Learn your number. Check your water bill and compare your household's daily use withthe 185-litre median.
- Shorten your shower. A four-minute shower instead of a nine-minute one adds up in both water and energy.
- Fit a water-saving showerhead or tap aerator. Look for the WELS star rating: the more stars, the more efficient.
- Catch the cold water. Collect the water that runs while your shower warms up and use it on your plants.
- Water at 6am, not midday. Less is lost to evaporation, and it costs nothing.
- Mulch your garden beds before the heat hits.
- Renting? Talk to your landlord about a water-saving showerhead or mulch.
Join Water Night: Thursday 22 October
The report ends with a simple invitation. On Water Night, households are asked to switch off their taps from 5–10pm on Thursday 22 October and notice how often they reach for water without thinking.
As The Water Conservancy puts it: "The habits that are hardest to change are usually the ones we've stopped noticing."
About the research
PureProfile surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,012 Australians aged 18 and over between 14 and 21 September 2026, with fieldwork by History Will Be Kind.
Source: The Water Conservancy (2026). Weathering the Dry: Australian Water Research 2026. thewaterconservancy.org/research/weathering-the-dry-2026/