There has been increasing awareness over water scarcity over the last few years, due to the diminishing resources available around the world. That is why it is essential businesses do what they can to reduce water leakage and re-use water, so there is not as much water wasted and more can be saved for those who need it.
What is the global water crisis?
Due to an increasing global population, climate change, poor water management and a huge amount of water wasted, as many as 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water.
This means one in four people are at risk of dehydration, water-borne diseases, and sanitation problems. More than one million die every year as a result, with a child falling victim to a water-related disease every couple of minutes.
As urbanisation, growing demand on freshwater resources, and problems occurring from climate change, such as altering weather patterns, are not likely to go away, it is essential more is done to protect water around the world.
This can be achieved by reducing the impact of climate change such as using less electricity, recycling more, and swapping fossil fuels that produce carbon dioxide for renewable sources instead.
Doing this can lower the likelihood of droughts, melting ice caps, flash floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and other bouts of extreme weather, which can pollute or reduce freshwater resources.
Alternatively, people can help protect water resources by reducing the amount they use or waste.
Are businesses responsible too?
Shockingly, the UK wastes three billion litres of water every single day due to leaks alone, which is the equivalent of 1,215 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
A lot of this will be caused in the home, with people spending too long in the shower, not reusing water when cooking, taking deep baths, running water when brushing their teeth, or overfilling the kettle. In fact, Water UK revealed that everyone in the UK uses around 152 litres of water every day.
This is despite being able to save 50 litres of hot water by cutting showers down to four minutes or reducing water usage by 23 litres a day by turning off the tap when brushing teeth.
However, businesses also contribute a lot to water wastage.
This tends to be due to operational problems, insufficient water systems, blockages, issues with the water network, the condition of pipes, and even changes in the weather, which can cause pipes to shrink or expand.
Businesses might also neglect leaks in their buildings, even though one leaky toilet can waste as much as 400 litres every day.
Agriculture and manufacturing sectors have a particular impact on water wastage, with industrial water usage being responsible for nearly a quarter of global water usage. At the same time, ten per cent of global food production involves over-pumping groundwater.
Half of landscape water is wasted, either because of runoff as the land is overwatered or because it evaporates into the atmosphere.
What can businesses do to reduce wasted water?
In order to reduce the amount of water being wasted, businesses can take certain steps themselves, which would also save them money on their energy bills.
Change supplier
Some providers are more efficient and reliable than others, which is why switching business water suppliers could see companies reduce their water usage significantly.
Re-use water
They can also re-use water that would otherwise be wasted, such as by using a water butt that collects rainwater from the roof, which can store around 200 litres of water.
Water could also be re-used when washing floors, vehicles, machinery or other equipment, to water the outside greenery, to be used as fire protection, as part of manufacturing processes, and to supplement freshwater for cooling towers.
Check for leaks
Companies should get experts to regularly check for water leaks in their pipes, as this could mean water is escaping without them even knowing about it. By making sure everything is properly sealed, they can conserve how much water they utilise.
Water-efficient products
They could also invest in water-efficient products that will make sure staff use less water on the premises, including self-closing taps, low-flow toilet aerators, waterless urinals, and motion sensors on taps.
A normal toilet flush can use as much as 13 litres of water, so by installing one that uses less, a huge amount of water could be saved every year.
Educate employees
It is also important to properly educate employees on how they can use less water on the site, including when it comes to appliance usage.
For instance, only putting the dishwasher on when it is full, only filling the kettle to the amount needed, turning off air conditioning units when they are not required, and closing taps when lathering hands.
Although these changes seem small, if everyone in the business does them, they can make a big difference to how much water the company wastes.
