{"id":555,"date":"2020-03-20T13:47:15","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T13:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/business-school\/?p=555"},"modified":"2020-03-27T11:05:27","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T11:05:27","slug":"the-importance-of-saving-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/business-school\/2020\/03\/20\/the-importance-of-saving-water\/","title":{"rendered":"The importance of saving water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Yvonne Barnes<\/strong>
Business School Green Impact team member<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water is essential for human life. It accounts for 50-70% of our body weight and is crucial for most bodily functions. With the current changing climate and extreme weather we have been experiencing, water supply is becoming increasingly unpredictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Although in the\nUK it may seem we have a plentiful source of water from all the rain we have,\nwater companies capture much less rainfall than we assume. In fact, parts of\nthe UK are subject to water stress (Environment Agency Report, Ref: GEHO1207BNOC-E-E),\nwith 12 out of 23 water companies operating in England rated as being under\nserious stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water consumes energy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Water companies\nneed to treat and pump water into our homes and work, which requires a lot of\nenergy. This is demonstrated in Scotland, where the company that uses the most\namount of electricity is Scottish Water. At home, energy is consumed to produce\nhot water: when showering, boiling the kettle, using the heating, and using the\nhot taps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water usage on the rise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Water usage in\nthe UK is predicted to rise in the next few years. Currently, the average\nhousehold in the UK uses around 330 litres of water a day – that\u2019s 140 litres\nper head, every day. According to Waterwise, 85% of people don\u2019t know how much water\nwe use per day on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is it costing me?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The average UK\nwater and sewage bill for homes with meters comes to \u00a3405 annually, and around\n17% of the average heating bill relates to heating water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using water\nwisely can make a big difference to households: for those on water meters, this\ncan mean savings on water and energy bills, and on energy bills for those in\nunmetered properties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How can I save water?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We can all help in not wasting such a\nvaluable resource and contribute to the broader good of helping to manage\nsupply, now and into the future. You can follow these suggestions to save water\nat home:<\/p>\n\n\n\n