Cutting water waste makes a real contribution to the bottom line. When adding up the cost of water, you might only look at the bills for the water coming onto site. In fact, this only represents around half of what you're paying: the water company also charges for the disposal of water as effluent.
Envirowise has found that companies that haven't examined their water consumption can achieve around 30% savings on water and effluent bills, by adopting simple water management measures. In some businesses, 80% could be slashed off the bill.
If we all took these simple steps, UK companies could save over £300 million.
Case in point
The BT group uses around 2 million m3 water each year. As well as installing urinal controls across the group, BT has repaired 140 leaks on supply pipes identified through metering.
They have reduced water use by c.125,000 m3 resulting in estimated savings of £150,000+.
The true cost of water is much higher than just supply and effluent bills: don't forget water treatment, purification and softening. When calculating the real cost, add in the energy taken to heat and deliver the water around your site. You may then start to see bigger cost benefits of conserving water.
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Benefits to business | Steps to stop water waste | In industrial firms