Water scarcity isn’t just a problem, it’s happening now
Did you know that four billion people, almost two thirds of the world’s population, experience severe water scarcity for at least one month per year. Additionally, more than two billion people live in areas where access to sufficient water is limited. Water scarcity is happening right now, and is already affecting around 72% of the population, and growing.
The pressure on water is growing (and where it’s coming from)
So why are we in extreme cases of water scarcity? Our water resources are under increasing pressure from multiple different things.
- Changing weather patterns: hotter and drier conditions increase water use, particularly for agriculture and households, while changing rainfall patterns can make natural water supplies less reliable.
- Longer and more frequent periods of drought: This reduces natural water supplies, increasing the demand for irrigation and other water uses.
- Population growth: The increasing population creates a higher demand for water than tolerable.
- Increasing demand for water: There is an increase in demand for water from things like agriculture, manufacturing products, such as food, clothes and electronics, and having a higher standard of living than previous generations.
- Ageing infrastructure and leakage: Ageing infrastructure can lead to leaks, meaning treated water is lost before it reaches consumers and increasing the amount of water that needs to be supplied.
The UK isn’t immune
The UK is often associated with rain – but that doesn’t mean we have an unlimited supply of water. Some parts of the UK are already experiencing significant pressure on water resources, particularly during prolonged periods of dry weather.
The East Midlands, Kent and East Sussex, North East and Yorkshire, and the East are experiencing significant challenges with water scarcity, leading to restrictions on water use, like the hosepipe ban in the South, East and parts of the South West.
Every drop has a footprint
The water coming from our taps doesn’t just simply appear there. It takes energy and infrastructure to:
Abstract – Treat – Pump – Supply – Heat – Use – Treat again
So when we waste water, we are also wasting the resources and energy used to get it to us.
Around 97% of the world’s water is found in our oceans and seas, leaving just 2.5% as freshwater. However, almost 70% of this freshwater is locked away in glaciers and ice caps, while around 30% is stored underground. This leaves only a tiny fraction readily accessible in rivers, lakes and other surface water for humans, plants and animals, highlighting the need to protect it.
We can reduce demand
We can’t control the weather, but we can control how much water we use!
Small behavioural changes, combined with practical water-saving solutions, can make a measurable difference – particularly when they are adopted at scale.
Easy things you can implement into your normal routine to save water:
- Fix leaks. Did you know a single leaking toilet can waste up to 400 litres of water daily! That’s the equivalent of having 1000 baths per year!
- Use the dishwasher when it’s full. Ensuring it’s full means you are using the right amount of water the dishwasher is meant to use, rather than wasting water by not needing as much to clean less dishes.
- Shorter showers. Did you know, if everyone in England knocked 1 minute off their shower time we could save almost 1 billion litres of water!
Where Control Flow Technologies Group comes in
At Control Flow Technologies Group, we’re helping water companies, councils, housing providers, and businesses, reduce water demand at the point of use.
Our water efficiency programmes combine technology, data and behavioural change to deliver measurable, long-term water-savings.
Our technology saves an average of £360 per household, per year, 27 litres of water saved per person, per day (Natural England approved) and 0.6 Tonnes Carbon (CO2) saved per household.
And we’ve proven even greater savings
Across our projects, we have proved a savings of up to 84 litres of water per property, per day!
Saving water is incredibly important to Control Flow Technologies Group, and we believe that if everyone contributed by making small changes, we could make a huge impact, not only for our environment, but for our future too.
