- Water is costing businesses in England and Wales around £30 million every day.
- Despite the relatively high rainfall we receive in the UK, there are limited natural and man made capacities for water storage. This, coupled with our high population density, means that there is relative little water per head in the UK.
- The South East of England has less water available per head than the desert states of Syria and Sudan (Environment Agency).
- Tap aerators and flow restrictors can save money. Considering that a tap is being used 20 times a day for a time period of 15 seconds, by fitting a tap aerator, at a cost of £5/tap, the water and sewerage cost savings would be about £13/tap/year.
- By reducing water consumption you can also reduce the carbon footprint of your business. For example, for every 1m3 of water saved, you will save approximately 1kg of CO2 equivalent*.
- When it comes to wasting water, just one drop a second from a dripping tap wastes nearly 5,000 litres of water in a year.
- In factories, it’s not uncommon for hoses to be left running to drain all day. This costs £46,500 a year, the equivalent of buying a new Porsche Boxster every year.
- Cleaning is vital for food safety but can account for 70% of a company’s water usage particularly when a ‘better to be safe than sorry’ approach to cleaning is adopted. Cost effective cleaning without compromising hygiene standards saves money.
- A leading drinks manufacturer saves £6,000 a year by using water saving nozzles on its container cleaning equipment. The devices paid for themselves in less than 10 weeks.
- Faulty valves causing tanks to overflow continuously cost a small brewery £13,000 a year in water and effluent charges.
*Water UK Sustainability Indicators 2007/8
