As the rain lashes down, the issue of water scarcity may seem like a climate change scare story.

But if we can’t always see the issues, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist, says Clare Galland, water efficiency and environmental services manager of Everflow Water.

The weather in the UK may make it seem as though water is a plentiful resource.

And, in theory, it is. It rains on average 133 days a year, bringing a total of 33.7 inches (85.59cm).

But that’s not the whole story, and water scarcity could be a problem sooner than many realise.

In fact, earlier this year, Emma Howard Boyd, the chair of the Environment Agency, warned that we could see water shortages by 2050 if action is not taken to conserve supplies.

The problem is not simply lack of water, although that plays a part. With more people using more water than ever before, even a wet and rainy country like the UK may struggle to keep up with demand.

It’s also a matter of infrastructure, which the average person can do little about, and wastage, which they can.

The environment is all of our responsibility, from huge multinationals down to each individual, and if we all play our part, we can effect major change.

An industry-wide issue

Before the market was opened up for competition, the older water companies, which build the infrastructure and treat and transport water, were slow to offer efficiency measures to businesses, which is partly why the market was deregulated in the first place.

At Everflow, we’ve made it our business to save our customers money, and we do this largely through saving them water – a win for their wallets and the environment.

Wholesale water companies often use complicated systems for billing for water services. These include falling block tariffs, where customers are categorised into usage bands. The result of this is often that those who use less water are actually charged a higher rate per unit than high users.

Everflow’s charges are set up so that we benefit from our customers using less water, something which we support them to do through advice and the use of smart meters where possible.

In fact, smart meters have a major part to play when it comes to water efficiency and it’s disappointing to see there is a still a relatively low roll out by wholesalers.

Such meters not only make it easy for customers to see where they’re wasting water – and how much inefficient fixtures and appliances cost. They can also alert us to potential leaks or other issues.

Make it personal

Away from billing and infrastructure, there’s so much that individuals can do to reduce their own personal water consumption, so that we can meet the demands of the future.

Collecting rainwater to use for non-drinking purposes, swapping baths for showers (five-minute ones at that) and turning the tap off when we brush our teeth may all seem like small, inconsequential acts at home – but they’re not.

A running tap, for example, uses six litres of water per minute, so leaving it running for the recommended 20 seconds while they wash their hands could waste 2 litres every time employees or customers use the loo. Similarly, older toilets often have over-generous cisterns. Reducing the cistern volume with a water-saving block or balloon can save half the water it uses. There are now waterless urinals on the market, as well as various flushing mechanisms which only react when they’re used. A common culprit outside is self-filling animal troughs, which can continuously run if their inlet valves are not maintained.

Figures like this make it easy to see where water is being wasted – and therefore, where it can be saved.

That’s why our CEO, Josh Gill, recently launched the #100Pledges campaign, for members of the team to commit to at least one water-saving action and really think about every drop of water they use.

We’re now calling on businesses across the country to follow suit and encourage their teams to count every drop by joining our campaign. We’ve even created a free toolkit to help at www.everflowwater.com/100-pledges

Because if we all work together, every drop counts.

Everflow Water is the fastest organically growing water retailer in the UK and, along with sister company Everflow Tech, it ranked third in in the Financial Times’ annual FT1000 list of businesses with the highest percentage growth in 2020.

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