I find it uses much less water if you just give it a blast under the tap (faucet!) when required. I tested if this used less water by putting the plug in the sink when doing this and found the sink wasn't even a quarter full after a full three pass shave, compared to my old way of doing it which was to fill the sink to about three quarters capacity prior to starting the shave. So if you think about it I'm saving half a sinkful of water per shave and I shave every day, per year that's a hell of a saving!