Sustainable Southwater: Saved by a snail?
With all the rain we’ve been having recently, it’s hard to imagine why we might want to save water, but our water supply is becoming increasingly unpredictable with West Sussex already classed as seriously water stressed. And if that’s not bad enough, we have an endangered snail to contend with! All of which means that planning consent for new building is on hold for the foreseeable until the powers that be can figure out how to make new builds water neutral.
There are a number of reasons why saving water is a good idea. It’s good for the environment: According to Waterwise, much of the water that we use in our homes is taken from rivers and lakes that wildlife in the UK rely on to survive. More than one in five water bodies in England are suffering or at risk from too much water being taken from them to supply households and businesses, and more than half of the species that depend on UK rivers, lakes and wetlands are in decline, with 13% of our freshwater and wetlands species threatened with extinction. Here in West Sussex it’s the Little Whirlpool Ramshorn Snail that is in peril and is at the heart of the debate on water conservation. Avid gardeners may have mixed feelings about that!
It’s good for our carbon footprint: treating water to bring it to the standard we expect from our suppliers is energy and chemical intensive and pumping it to your tap requires a great deal of pumping. It’s good for your bank balance: especially if your water is metered. Plus heating your water is expensive - about 20% of a typical gas heated home’s heating bill is from the water for showers, baths and the hot water tap.
We’re getting good at turning the tap off while we brush our teeth and most people have a water butt for rainwater collection for their plants. But did you know that nearly half of homes could make efficiency improvements to their toilet which could save a up to 12,500 litres per person, per year. That’s the equivalent to 150 average-sized baths full. One way would be to install a cistern water displacement device to save up to a couple of litres per flush (Southern Water offer these for free). Consider upgrading to a dual-flush toilet, which typically uses 4-6 litres of water opposed to the old style flush systems which use a massive 13 litres per flush (Taps&Toilets do these for a fixed fee: 07900 555819). Or simply check your loo isn’t leaking by putting some food colouring in the cistern and if the water in the bowl changes colour (give it an hour or so), then you need to call a plumber!
Lots more information and tips can be found at the following websites: