Over the last few months we’ve seen temperatures reach record breaking highs across the UK, in one of the driest summers in almost 100 years. Climate change is becoming more visible, with low rainfall and hot, dry days resulting in depleted water supplies, hosepipe bans in many areas of the country, and an official drought declared in some places. The change in weather conditions means businesses need to understand the future of our water supply and how they can help preserve it.
Businesses must adapt
Messages from multiple wholesalers and retailers have gone up over the last couple of months, asking for households and businesses to save water where they can and use it more efficiently. If we don’t, there may not be enough to go around, and that doesn’t just apply to the summer. In most areas of the UK we have a surplus of water, but it’s decreasing each year and if we do nothing, we’ll be short of around 3.4 billion litres of water per day by 2050. This means water shortages will be an issue all year round, not just when the temperatures are high.
Businesses are rightly focusing on the government’s 2050 net zero target and reducing their carbon footprint, but our rainfall patterns are also changing and this is affecting our water resources, so the focus should be on water too. Without water, businesses can’t operate as usual. Non-household customers are responsible for around a third of all water usage in the UK so it’s vital they factor their water usage into their sustainability goals, or there may not be enough water left by the time we meet the net zero target.
What water shortages look like for your business
Although the whole of England will need more water to meet future demand, some areas, including the South East, will be face greater water stress than others. Regional planning groups are working with stakeholders to create plans for each region, considering options like additional reservoirs, effluent reuse and transferring water across the country. The water industry is doing what it can, but the growth of businesses could be restricted if there isn’t enough water to supply new sites, so businesses also need to step up, consider putting contingency plans in place and think long term about how current actions will affect their future.
Embrace change
Running out of water seems like an impossible thought, but it’s a very real possibility in less than 25 years, if nothing changes now. Changing your perspective is the first step. There are ways you can be more water efficient without using less water and changing the way your business operates. The answer is to act on water wastage, minimise unnecessary use and find and fix leaks quickly.
Waste less, save more
The UK wastes more than 3 billion litres of water through leaks every day, which is almost the same figure as the 2050 estimated water deficit. It goes without saying that addressing leaks is the best way to positively impact our resources, and although businesses are not responsible for all leaks, there is still plenty they could do to help.
According to smart meter data, around 26% of business water consumption is continuous, meaning the flow of water through the meter is constant. This is likely to be happening in other areas too, and, as lots of businesses don’t use water 24 hours a day, it means they might have a leak somewhere on site.
So how will you know if you have a leak? There are a few things you can do to check including doing a leak and flow test and checking your taps, showers and toilets for leaks. Uncontrolled urinals are another big water-waster, as they can flush up to 3 times an hour even when the building is empty, wasting huge amounts of water for no reason and costing businesses hundreds of extra pounds a year.
How Wave can help
Water reduction targets are likely to be put in place to reduce the risk of running out of water, and this may be around 9% for non-household customers and could be achieved by acting fast on leaks.
If you’d like to start your journey towards becoming more water efficient (and maybe save some money in the process), Wave offer a range of services. We also automatically send out consumption alerts to our large business customers, meaning they’re notified if their usage goes above a certain threshold and can investigate. If it turns out you have a leak, we can find and fix it.
What’s important is that we all do our bit to wipe out water waste and make sure businesses and communities can continue to grow and flourish.
