Water: A drain on profits?

Major energy users tend also to be major water users.Yet, while reducing energy use has become a cornerstone of industry sustainability,water use goes unnoticed, according to Shawn Coles, founder of Water Saving Week

In order to achieve energy efficiency, improving water efficiency is vital. In fact, water has a huge role to play in reducing industry's carbon footprint, because it, too, is a contributor to a plant's emissions.Much of the water used in industry - for processing, fabricating, rinsing, steam heating and sanitation - needs to be heated using energy from fossil fuels. Therefore, when water is wasted onsite, energy is also wasted.

Water efficiency is a particularly pressing issue for industry since industrial plants, particularly in sectors such as food, chemicals and paper, are extremely water-intensive.

According to a report by Waterwise (a notfor- profit NGO), approximately 45% of freshwater in the UK is withdrawn for industrial use.Water demand in the UK has been growing at a rate of 1% a year since 1930. This is mainly due to wasteful water use practices, rather than a real need for more water.

"Water - we all need it, we can't live without it, and yet we are using more and more of it," comments Chris Sheppard, performance development manager for Guernsey Water. "It's a precious resource and yet many of us use it as if it was free and available in unlimited quantities. It's not!" Not only do companies pay for water in the form of water bills, when they heat the water, they pay again in the form of fuel bills.

However, for many organisations, the memo has not yet been received that water efficiency and energy efficiency go hand in hand. According to an extensive survey conducted by Water Saving Week, 85% of businesses were concerned about energy efficiency, yet only 73% were concerned about water efficiency.

It's a popular misconception that achieving water efficiency involves expensive water-saving measures. In fact, it's the small changes that can add up to a huge environmental difference. For example, fixing a dripping tap can save as much as 5000L of water a year. The simplest way to begin saving water is to know exactly where all the water onsite is going. Despite this, the Water Saving Week survey found that a staggering 87% of businesses that spend more than £500k on water consumption do not have metering equipment in place to report on their water usage.Metering helps to identify water leaks, damaged equipment and areas where excess water is being used.

Once all the leaks have been plugged, reducing water waste can take three main forms: investing in equipment that improves water efficiency (such as waterless urinals); recycling or reusing water (either harvested rainwater or water used during onsite processing); behavioural change campaigns to encourage staff members to use water more efficiently.

Water Saving Week 2010, which runs from the 12-18th June, provides an opportunity to kick-start a behavioural change campaign onsite. Now in its second year, it is a Defrasupported campaign to raise awareness of water waste.Water users of all kinds have already logged onto our website to find water-saving tips and make a pledge to cut water waste.

Water Saving Week has already gathered support from companies such as Guernsey Water and EDF Energy, as well as organisations like the UK Sustainable Development Association (UK-SDA).

Terry Nash, director of the UK-SDA, comments: "Saving water is as important to future sustainability as reducing carbon footprint, making Water Saving Week a very important event in raising public awareness of the pressures on UK water supplies." For many industrial processes, water and energy are used in tandem, so they should also be given equal weight when assessing a site's efficiency. Fixing leaks, adapting machinery, recycling or reusing water, and changing staff attitudes towards water use can all make a dramatic impact on water waste - and improve energy efficiency too.