September 2005
Avoiding Water Stress
Wise use of water is essential to prevent future shortages and can also provide economic benefits. Recent initiatives are tackling the demand for water in engineering and other businesses with 5 year targets to reverse the trend in rising demand, but what else can industry do?
UK industry and commerce use 1,300 million cubic metres of water every year, industry paying £1,014 million for its share. However, according to Water UK, water shortage is among the most serious medium-term threats to quality of life in the UK. The UK has less available water per person per day than any other European country. Rising demand for water, combined with shifts in population and climate change, means that parts of the UK could face extreme water stress in the coming decade.
Recent Initiatives Tackling Waste
Recently organisations have reported reducing water consumption by as much as 33% - all through the implementation of simple water management measures.
Among more than 100 businesses taking part in Envirowise's Big Splash challenge, 12 companies singled out for praise in July heard Environment Minister, Elliot Morley, encouraging further businesses to take the plunge, "using water resources efficiently can directly benefit the bottom line – whatever the size of the business."
Small sources of waste are indeed costly. A hose left running to drain all day could cost a company as much as £46,500 a year, a single dripping tap, £750 a year.
This month, UK water companies have set up Waterwise, a new private sector organisation. It has set itself a target of five years to reverse the trend in rising demand and thereby reduce stress on the supply-demand balance in the UK.
The aim is to fund projects which help the significant industrial consumers, but also spread the benefits of reducing water consumption to other sectors. It will be promoting efficiency technology that it claims can return the initial outlay through tax relief and lower water bills.
"We aim to share best practice procedures to build a strong case for water efficiency projects" said Waterwise Director Jacob Tompkins. "This isn't about constraining lifestyles but using new technology and education to add value."
What else can be done?
For sites which have not previously examined their water consumption, implementing simple water management measures at little or no on-cost to the business can usually achieve around 30% savings on water and effluent bills, almost immediately.
The first step in saving water is to understand where most of the water is used; for example in offices, factory areas, in washing or the boiler room. The purpose and layout of the water system should be clear from a survey.
Next, water use needs to be monitored. The local water company may be able to set up online data collection from the main water meter to enable frequent measures of overall use to be correlated with measures for operational activity, such as manufacturing output or numbers of staff.
The main benefit comes to those who regularly monitor points-of-use, preferably with flow meters, although also through regular inspection. Once measured in relation to need, flow can be reduced to the minimum necessary and variations in usage can be investigated.
Achieving reductions is the next step. Involving staff in good housekeeping; not overfilling vessels and reporting leaks, can be enhanced by using cost effective technology such as:
- Trigger-operated spray nozzles on hoses.
- Low flush toilets or sensors on toilets and cistern dams to control the scale of flushes.
- Sensors on taps or push-taps.
- Flow controllers and flow limiting devices.
- Leak warning devices.
- Rainwater harvesting and recycling units for "grey" water.
The Water Technology List provides information on the products that meet the published eligibility criteria to enable claims made on the purchase of products to qualify for Enhanced Capital Allowances.
Any case for the purchase of water-using equipment should consider options for improving water efficiency.
Finally, evaluate the success. Payback for such efficiency measures can be months rather than years and longer term water savings projects can reduce water and effluent bills by 50% or more.
Each contribution businesses can make to saving water relieves the pressure on the wider system to meet growing demands, and most measures save significant costs in the process.
If you are interested to discuss improving the management of water or other resources, contact Nersi Salehi on 024 7632 3260.
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