Karl Mansfield from Water Plus took part in an elemental webinar this week on public buildings and water efficiency. Here, he talks about how being wiser on water, engaging visitors and empowering employees helps save costs and reduce environmental impact.
Looking closer at water use – and harnessing people power at sites – can help gain efficiencies, lower utility costs and support the progress being made to net zero at public buildings, and small steps can all add up to bigger results.
In England and Scotland, water retailers engage with and communicate with customers – who are not households – and provide water and wastewater services including billing. Water wholesalers manage the water network and supply water to sites and take wastewater away.
Harnessing people power at public sector sites can deliver wider benefits
An independent survey, commissioned by Water Plus to help organisations, found 70% of public sector workers in England (and 62% in Scotland) said their employer could do more to encourage them to reduce their water consumption while at work*.
A school that was tracking what they were using, spotted additional water use of 71 cubic metres of water (71,000 litres) when no-one was on-site, along with additional water use when staff and pupils were there. The school couldn’t find any visible signs of a water leak. So, they contacted Water Plus, who arranged a visit in February 2023 and we pinpointed an underground leak, showing the benefits of people at public sector buildings looking closer at water use throughout a year.
A Sustainability Day at an NHS Trust this year also engaged doctors, nurses and other site staff around water and the environment. Water Plus were at the day, and a quiz of staff at the event found a lot got the questions right on how much water was used in different ways and some were already limiting shower times. Staff were also very conscious of costs and how they were using water and gas as Water Plus highlighted the links around water-saving and wider benefits.
Water Plus is continuing its work with an NHS Trust, which is stepping up its water saving and raising awareness on it amongst staff, to help lower impacts on the environment, lower running costs and help the NHS to their net zero target. Water is under Scope 3 emissions – and there are carbon emissions linked to all water used at sites.
Scott MacIndeor, Head of Advanced Services at Water Plus, said:
Getting more detail on what water is used where at sites and how site use and building use may have changed, can all help to spot opportunities for action on reducing water use where it’s not needed. Data loggers on water meters, that can provide regular updates on an online portal, are a good way of looking closer at water use.
There are a variety of solutions out there around how water is used – and it’s important to understand what would work best for your site when it comes to water efficiency measures – and seek experts for projects and installing kit. It’s also vital to make sure any changes around how water is used complies with the relevant laws and byelaws in place, like the Water Fittings Regulations, Water Industry Act and others.
The sense in regular site checks and maintenance
A total of 92% of people from private sector and public sector organisations who completed an online poll, in January 2022, said they wouldn’t know if there was an underground leak at their organisation**.
One of those joining the elemental Saving Water in public buildings webinar to listen to Water Plus share information and highlight areas to think about when it comes to water in April 2023, had also seen noticeable damage from a water leak at a public building in the last 12 months.
Regular servicing and maintenance of taps, toilets and urinals – as well as any water efficiency devices in buildings – is important – so it’s known they’re working properly and no water’s being wasted.
A council increased its water efficiency by more than 36,000 litres of water a day at one site, after extra tracking on use and a visit by Water Plus experts. Water Plus alerted the council to the opportunity from data logger information that fed into a smart online portal, provided by the water retailer. It allowed the engineer arranged by Water Plus, following contact with the council, to make a change to pipework in February 2022, saving water. The visit also identified a water efficiency opportunity in another building too.
Along with regular monitoring of water use at sites, knowing what to do and where you’d get water if you need it is essential. It’s also important to consider if your staff and those visiting or using your site would know who to alert if they saw a water leak.
Scott said:
Regular maintenance of water pipes and fittings at sites, including public buildings, is very important as it keeps water flowing efficiently, reduces the chance of supply interruptions on-site and can spot issues early to prevent continuing increases in costs.
If there’s a water issue at site, it’s the responsibility of the site owner to keep their pipes maintained and to take action if anything needs attention, just like homeowners.
We manage the water and wastewater services for many public sector organisations, including some of the largest and most diverse in the UK – such as councils, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and the emergency services – so we understand their different needs and drivers and we’ve helped organisations make significant savings across their portfolio, reducing water use and contributing to their sustainability aims and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In November 2022, Water Plus won a Gold for Water Management in the Green Apple Environment Awards for its work with organisations around their water use.
You can find out more about Water Plus here.
* 500 people working in the public sector (250 from Scotland and 250 from England) and 500 people working in businesses (250 from Scotland and 250 from England) were surveyed. The research was conducted by independent survey consultant, Censuswide, in May 2019.
** Online survey during presentation, in January 2022. 26 responses on survey question.
