Tag: water

Water savings flood in for Scottish public sector

SCOTLAND’S largest water retailer has saved the country’s public sector a record £2.85million over the course of the last year, taking total savings over three years to £6.4million.

Business Stream has supported public sector organisations across the country, including NHS Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government with leak detection, water efficiency and smart monitoring services as part of a three-year contract.

As a result of the retailer’s activities, the sector has also saved more than 1.365 billion litres of water over the past year, equivalent to the volume of 546 Olympic swimming pools.

This in turn has delivered energy savings reducing 574,778 kg of carbon – comparable to removing 438 single passenger flights from Edinburgh to New York.

Jo Dow, Chief Executive of Business Stream, said: “We’re really pleased to have delivered significant savings for Scotland’s public sector again this year.

“Our experience in working with the sector has allowed us to develop a suite of services and solutions that are helping the sector to reduce costs, save time and generate environmental efficiencies. We’re looking forward to delivering further savings in the year ahead”.

Through constantly striving to improve efficiency and service, the 350-strong water retailer has increased public sector savings year-on-year, from £1.4 million in 2021 to £2.2 million in 2022.

As one of the largest water retailers in the UK, Business Stream was awarded the Scottish Government Public Sector Water and Waste Water Framework contract in early 2020. The contract, worth around £200 million over three years, also includes the Scottish Prison Service, universities and colleges and local authorities. In 2022, Business Stream was awarded an additional one-year extension to the contract, which is currently underway.

A spokesperson from the Scottish Procurement and Property Directorate utilities team, said: “Business Stream has continued to work with the public sector to identify water efficiency opportunities.

“This pro-active approach has reduced water consumption and provided financial savings for public sector customers of the Water and Waste Water Framework. Reducing cost and carbon impact is essential for supporting Scotland’s green economic recovery and helping us on our journey to a Net Zero Nation.”

The water retailer recently announced it had delivered £50,000 of funding to six public sector initiatives through its annual Public Sector Scotland (PSS) Water Efficiency Fund.

This year’s successful candidates of the Fund include a Heriot-Watt University initiative to install a water chiller unit to cool, condense and recirculate used water; the installation of modern, electronic low-flow taps at Glasgow Caledonian University; and the fitting of waterless urinals and aerator tap technology at Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University.

Jo added: “The Water Efficiency Fund plays a key role in identifying and funding innovative ways to minimise water waste and generate efficiency savings. Our investment in these projects highlights our commitment to supporting Scotland’s public sector.”

Originally created in 2006 to offer best in class water services to businesses in Scotland, Business Stream later acquired the non-household customer base of Southern Water ahead of the planned opening of the English retail water market.

That market change in 2017 paved the way for 1.2 million businesses and public bodies in England to be able to choose their water supplier. In 2019 Business Stream acquired the customer base of its competitors Yorkshire Water Business Services (YWBS) and Three-Sixty, doubling its market share.

Business Stream has its HQ in Edinburgh, as well as a presence in Worthing, West Sussex and in Bradford, West Yorkshire. It is guided by its ambitious vision to make a positive difference to its customers, its people, the environment and local communities.

Since launching that vision in 2019, the retailer has introduced more than 30 initiatives, including a 20% water efficiency pledge to help customers reduce water usage. It has also invested in a tree-planting programme which has delivered an additional 10,000 trees in Scotland.

The savings success comes after Business Stream recently halved its carbon emissions in just one year, exceeding the retailer’s pledge to cut emissions by 20% over the same period.

Producers urged to address ‘flushable’ wet wipes labelling

The UK Government has stepped up action to tackle harmful plastics and clean up England’s waterways by challenging producers of wet wipes to address concerns over how they label their products.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has written to wet wipes producers setting out her concerns about the number of wet wipes that are flushed down UK toilets – between 2.1 – 2.9 billion each year – and has asked them to reconsider the use of the word ‘flushable’ on packaging to help prevent sewer blockages and water pollution.

Wet wipes contribute to 94 percent of sewer blockages, which can lead to damage to properties and can result in sewage-related litter entering the environment.

It is estimated that water companies spend £100m each year dealing with this. The Environment Secretary has told producers that labels saying ‘flushable’ or ‘fine to flush’ may encourage consumers to dispose of wipes down the toilet, rather than disposing of them responsibly in the bin.

Wet wipes producers have now been asked to set out how they will address these concerns.

Lat week (26 May) Water Minister Rebecca Pow attended a summit in Paris, where the UK, alongside 52 other members of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) to End Plastic Pollution (HAC), has signed a far-reaching Joint Ministerial Statement that calls for a range of mandatory provisions to be included in the global plastic pollution treaty, currently under negotiation.

Water Minister, Rebecca Pow said: “It is vital that producers are more transparent with their guidance on flushability, as ultimately wet wipes that are dumped down the toilet can cause damage to our environment and water quality.

“This is alongside the wider action we’re taking on water quality, including tougher enforcement for water companies, more investment and tighter regulation to stop pollution happening in the first place.”

This action follows on from commitments made in the UK government’s Plan for Water to write to producers and advertising authorities about using the word ‘flushable’ on wet wipes packaging.

The Plan for Water also committed to a public consultation on the proposal to ban wet wipes containing plastic, responding to public calls to tackle the blight of plastic in our waterways and building on recent action from major retailers including Boots and Tesco. The government will work with industry and making sure plastic-free alternatives are always available to the public.

These plans build on the Westminster Government’s previous efforts to eliminate avoidable plastic waste, including:

  • One of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products announced in 2018
  • Restrictions on the supply of single-use plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds in 2020.
  • Plastic Packaging Tax in April 2022 – a tax of £200 per tonne on plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic.

Following the huge success of the 5p single-use carrier bag charge, in May 2021 the UK Government also increased the minimum charge to 10p and extended it to all retailers, taking billions of bags out of circulation.

Earlier this month water and sewage companies in England apologised for sewage spills and launched a ‘massive transformation programme’ following growing public anger over polluted rivers and waterways while the water companies continue to enjoy massive profits.

  • £10 billion – more than triple current levels – ready to be invested in a new National Overflows Plan, enabling the biggest modernisation of sewers since the Victorian era, and the most ambitious programme on sewage spills in the world.
  • A new Environmental hub, launching next year, will for the first time give everyone near real-time information on overflows, as well as the state of our rivers and coastal waters.
  • Companies will also support up to 100 communities to create new protected waters for swimming and recreation.

Water and sewage companies in England have today (18 May) apologised for not acting quickly enough on sewage spills. To put things right, industry plans to make the largest ever investment in storm overflows as part of a major programme to reduce spills into rivers and seas.

In addition, a new national environmental hub with information on all 15,000 overflows in the country will increase transparency and allow the public to hold companies to account.

The industry’s plan includes the following three commitments:

1. Accelerating progress

We are today confirming companies’ readiness to invest what is needed to deliver the ambition set out in the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. This could involve additional funding of £10 billion this decade, more than tripling (and adding to) current levels of investment of £3.1bn 2020-25. If approved by regulators, we expect that, by 2030, through this initial wave of investment will will aim to cut sewage overflows by up to 140,000 each year compared to the level in 2020. This will kick-off the first wave of a massive transformation programme across 350,000 miles of sewer (a length that would stretch 14 times round the world).

Water companies across the country will aim to:

  • Install the equivalent of thousands of new Olympic swimming pools to hold surges in rainwater that would otherwise overload the system;
  • Increase the capacity of sewage treatment works, allowing them to treat higher volumes of rainfall and sewage;
  • Replace concrete with grass and ponds to reduce rainfall run-off entering sewers, protecting them against the overloading that causes spills;
  • Treat overflow spills so they have much less impact on the river, including through reed beds, wetlands and other nature-friendly projects; and
  • Improve the sewer network by enlarging and improving pipes, allowing them to safely carry more sewage during peak times, and fixing misconnected pipes from properties.

A detailed National Overflows Plan will be published later this summer, explaining each companies’ approach to improving their overflows. This will include when improvements can be expected, and (as projects are developed) how improvements will be delivered and the expected results. For the first time, communities across the country will be able to find out exactly when overflows in their area will be improved and be able to hold their water and sewerage company to account.

2. More transparency to improve accountability

Water and sewage companies will collaborate on creating, by this time next year, a new independently-overseen National Environment Data Hub to provide the public with up-to-date information on the operation of all 15,000 sewage overflows in England. For the first time in the world, any member of the public will be able to get national ‘near real time’ (within the hour) information on what is happening, building on the requirement on individual companies set out in the Government’s world-leading Environment Act.

This will strengthen accountability, help the public to track progress and empower swimmers and others with the information they need. In addition, as thousands of new river quality monitors come online (planned to be installed from 2025 onwards), this additional data will also be added to the Hub to let people see the real-world impact on rivers.

3. Supporting new bathing rivers

Water and sewage companies will help up to 100 communities interested in protecting rivers and other outdoor areas of water (like lakes and reservoirs) for the purpose of swimming and recreation. Each water and sewage company in England will also support the roll-out of new river swimming areas, by providing help to up to 100 communities to test the water, draw up plans, apply for legal protection, and work with regulators to fix local sources of pollution.

Industry will also develop guidance and toolkits and support citizen scientists to help local groups navigate what can be a burdensome process.

Ruth Kelly, Chair of Water UK, said: “The message from the water and sewage industry today is clear: we are sorry. More should have been done to address the issue of spillages sooner and the public is right to be upset about the current quality of our rivers and beaches.

“We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right. This problem cannot be fixed overnight, but we are determined to do everything we can to transform our rivers and seas in the way we all want to see.”

Unlike England, Scotland’s water remains in public ownership.

Gardening climate saviours

Water-smart gardening tips plant seeds for Spring inspiration

WATER experts are calling on the public to get into the garden this spring to make every drop count of Scotland’s most precious natural resource.

With garden sprinklers using around 15 litres of water per minute, alternative water-cautious methods will ensure the resource is protected and waste reduced.

Not only that, small and cost-effective interventions can play an important role in slowing the speed that water run-off hits our drainage systems and streets, helping to reduce potential flooding risks.

A series of cost effective, simple tips have been produced by Scottish Water to help the country’s gardeners make an impact – and are perfect for trying out with the whole family this Spring:

1.       Install a water butt

A useful way to harvest rainwater, to save it for a sunny day, is to create a water tank. Buying and fitting a water butt is easy, but there are all sorts of hacks to reuse household items. Maybe using an old watering can, or a bin – there’s a host of creative videos online that are simple and free to do. It’s a great way to highlight to youngsters how much water a garden uses while also catching water to give plants a drink in dry spells. 

2.       Creative upcycle 

From budget planters to making DIY garden pots, there is something for all the family to get involved in while giving a new purpose to unused or unloved material. For example, turning an old sandbox into a garden bed or getting handy with odd bits of wood to build and decorate a box – great ways to add colour to the smallest of spaces. And the perfect solution to absorbing water in heavy downpours, reducing surface water run-off which can contribute to flooding. It all helps!

3.       Learn to love your lawn 

Let your lawn get back to nature. Letting it grow a little longer is great for bees and bugs.  Summer dry spells can mean your lawn becomes parched – but that’s natural too and you’ll be amazed at how it can bounce back with the next rainfall. Delivering water to your taps – whether in the garden and in the house – uses loads of energy, so only using the water you need can reduce our collective carbon footprints.  

4.       Water wise plants

Plants and trees play an important role helping to intercept rain before it hits the ground. Large leafy plants, shrubs and trees scattered throughout your garden will absorb groundwater through their roots and catch some water on their leaves. They’ll also help to shelter exposed ground, saving it from damage caused by intense rainfall.

5.       Create a raingarden

Creating a natural ‘raingarden’ within your plot can help gardens cope during heavy rain and can be a much-needed haven for nature.  They can also help reduce water flowing off paved areas quickly in heavy rain onto roads and into the sewer system and help reduce flooding downstream. 

Rain gardens can be created simply, by digging down to create a dip at the lowest part of your garden, to help water drain into it.  Plant the space with plants that like wet conditions but can also cope with period of dry weather.

Gravel paths, permeable driveways and real lawns all help drain heavy rainfall which is all too familiar as the climate changes.  If you must pave over part of your garden, then draining it through a raingarden helps to minimise rainwater run-off, helping nature and adding a welcome pop of colour to your garden. 

6.       Home composting

Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms kitchen and garden waste into valuable and nutritious food for your garden.

Starting this spring will save you money, resources and help improve your soil – while acting as a fun family project. Many councils can supply a compost bin, or you can cheaply make your own out of pallets or odd bits of wood.

Loads of ideas can be found here: 

https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/diy/how-to-build-a-compost-bin/ 

7.       Shades of grey water

Did you know the water you’ve already used to wash yourself, clothes and dishes is called ‘grey water’? And this grey water can be reused to water your plants or lawn – a bit of soapy washing up water will do your plants no harm.

Ladybirds and other wildlife flourish in gardens which can be used to help tackle climate change. Scottish Water is offering top tips to anyone with outdoor space on simple steps they can take to help reduce drought risks and to help prevent flooding

Top tips: Pop a few pot plants near your kitchen door, take your used washing up water to top up the plants when they need it. Just remember to let the water cool and water from the roots not the leaves. Avoid using greywater on edible plants.

8.      Garden games

A fun way to encourage youngsters to think about the cycle of water from cloud to life is through different planting experiments. Why not identify an area where water naturally gathers during rainy days and plant vegetation that will thrive in that sort of soil, and do the opposite with a dry area? Lavender is a cheap plant that loves dry soil, smells great and attracts bees. Likewise the beautiful Himalayan blue poppy thrives in damp ground, helping reduce flooding.

9.       Real vs Artificial grass

Despite the increase in artificial grass over the last decade, nothing beats the real thing for water efficiency. And it can often be a much cheaper option.

Get the family together to level the lawn, distribute lawn seeds and watch it grow. This could make for an exciting holiday project.

Artificial grass is essentially plastic, so it releases microplastics into the environment.

For soaking up water in damp ground, the Himalayan blue poppy. is ideal. This is Meconopsis ‘Slieve Donard’ Scottish Water is providing tips to help the public tackle climate change in their gardens – not matter how large or small. Dawn Lochhead, Flood Risk Manager, is an expert in water smart gardening. She has shared 10 tips, including plants that will help prevent flooding by retaining water during times of heavy rain

A real lawn supports wildlife rather than harming it. If your only option just now is artificial, could you install a rain garden to manage rainwater runoff from hard surfaces.

Something as simple as a raised bed or planter boxes; easy to create, maintain and add colour. 

10.   Show off your work and encourage others to do the same

By encouraging everyone to consider small changes to their lifestyles, people can save water, save money and help reduce our collective emissions – so make sure to show off your water smart gardening with friends, in person and online. And remember, your actions can affect others down-stream, so be a good neighbour and do your bit to reduce flooding.

Dawn Lochhead, Scottish Water’s Flood Risk Manager, in the garden of her Midlothian home with son Harris and pet dog, Rex. Dawn is an expert on how gardens can be optimised to make optimal use of water and help prevent flooding during rainy weather and to reduce water use during potential drought periods. These pics go with Scottish Waters 10 top tips for effectie water use in gardens.

Dawn Lochhead, Flood Risk Manager at Scottish Water, is also a keen gardener who has implemented many of these tips in her own family garden in Midlothian. She said: “Water is precious resource, and we all need to look after it.

“I’m sure most of us think it rains a lot in Scotland – and that is true – but our weather is changing due to climate change, leading to us to a mix of longer dry spells and much heavier downpours which can lead to flash flooding.

“Modern life means we’ve changed our green spaces substantially. Being water-smart in our homes and gardens is an easy thing we can all do to help redress the balance, help nature thrive and reduce flood risk for ourselves and our neighbours.

“Thinking about drainage and the use of permeable materials in our gardens is the first step, allowing water to be absorbed and dissipate naturally. Plus capturing rainwater to use in the garden helps during dry spells.

“Planting a lawn, shrubs, flowers, creating a raingarden not only look great, they attract wildlife and are a true investment in everyone’s future. If everyone did a few small things in their gardens this Spring, collectively we’d make a big difference.”

Hydration for a Healthy Heart

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Healthy Heart Tip: Hydration for a Healthy Heart

Nutrition and Hydration Week is an annual event that aims to educate and celebrate improvements in the provision of nutrition and hydration.

When thinking about heart health, we often think about nutrition and the impact this can have, but we can forget to consider how inadequate hydration levels can negatively impact our cardiac health.

This week’s Healthy Tip is all about hydration, and how it’s an essential component to our health and optimal functioning of our cardiovascular system.

Why is hydration important?

Water accounts for about 60% of our body weight, and every single cell in our body needs to be properly hydrated to work well.

Water performs many roles in the body, such as regulating body temperature through sweating, lubricating joints, and removing waste products via bowel movements and urination. If we don’t drink enough fluids the amount of blood circulating in our body decreases. When this happens the heart must beat faster and our blood pressure may be affected, which can increase our risk of a cardiac event.

Signs of dehydration

Dehydration occurs when we lose more fluids (through urination and sweating) than we replace with the fluids from the food and drinks we consume.

Symptoms of moderate dehydration include not urinating much throughout the day, dark yellow urine, muscle cramps, thirst and a dry mouth. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms often, it’s a good idea to increase your fluid intake.

Ways to drink more

Drinking water is the easiest and cheapest way to ensure you stay properly hydrated, but there are other drinks that count towards your liquid intake such as herbal teas, sugar-free juice and low-fat milk.

The NHS recommends drinking 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluids every day, which is about 1.5 to 2 litres.

Fruits and vegetables also contain water, so increasing the amount you consume can improve your hydration levels. Some great options include cucumber, tomatoes, apples, watermelon and peaches.

For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for our weekly healthy tips at 

www.heartresearch.org.uk/healthy-tips.

Water’s Worth Saving

When considering your impact on the environment, people often think about pollution, emissions, and energy, but not water. Water saving isn’t always top of the agenda in environmental discussions, yet water is one of our most precious resources and it’s increasingly at risk.

Join our water-saving campaign and check where you could be wasting water. If every household made even slight changes to their daily habits, it would seriously reduce our water footprint. Simple steps such as washing up in a bowl, switching off running taps, and using eco settings on the washing machine all help.

Discover ways you can reduce your carbon footprint at home and in the garden 

#WatersWorthSaving

#WWS22

#OnlyOneEarth

Life could exist in the clouds of Jupiter, says new study

Jupiter’s clouds have water conditions that would allow Earth-like life to exist, but this isn’t possible in Venus’ clouds, according to the groundbreaking finding of new research led by a Queen’s University Belfast scientist. 

For some decades, space exploration missions have looked for evidence of life beyond Earth where we know that large bodies of water, such as lakes or oceans, exist or have previously existed. However, the new research shows that it isn’t the quantity of water that matters for making life viable, but the effective concentration of water molecules – known as ‘water activity’. 

The new study also found that research published by an independent team of scientists last year, claiming that the phosphine gas in Venus’ atmosphere indicates possible life in the sulphuric acid clouds of Venus, is not plausible. 

Through this innovative research project, Dr John E. Hallsworth from the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s and his team of international collaborators devised a method to determine the water activity of atmospheres of a planet. Using their approach to study the sulphuric acid clouds of Venus, the researchers found that the water activity was more than a hundred times below the lower limit at which life can exist on Earth. 

The research also shows that Jupiter’s clouds have a high enough concentration of water, as well as the correct temperature, for life to exist there. The study has been published in Nature Astronomy. 

Dr Hallsworth said: “Our research shows that the sulphuric acid clouds in Venus have too little water for active life to exist, based on what we know of life on Earth.

“We have also found that the conditions of water and temperature within Jupiter’s clouds could allow microbial-type life to subsist, assuming that other requirements such as nutrients are present.

“This is a timely finding given that NASA and the European Space Agency just announced three missions to Venus in the coming years. One of these will take measurements of Venus’s atmosphere that we will be able to compare with our finding.” 

Co-author of the report, an expert on physics and chemical biology of water, Dr Philip Ball, commented: “The search for extraterrestrial life has sometimes been a bit simplistic in its attitude to water.

“As our work shows, it’s not enough to say that liquid water equates with habitability. We’ve got to think too about how Earth-like organisms actually use it – which shows us that we then have to ask how much of the water is actually available for those biological uses.” 

Co-author of the report, NASA-based planetary scientist Prof Christopher P. McKay, said: “We derive water activity of atmospheres without a model of any sort, based only on direct observations of pressure, temperature, and water concentration.” 

Dr Hallsworth added: “We have also performed calculations for Mars and Earth and show that these calculations can be done for planets outside our solar system.

“While our research doesn’t claim that alien (microbial-type) life does exist on other planets in our solar system, it shows that if the water activity and other conditions are right, then such life could exist in places where we haven’t previously been looking.” 

Co-authors of this paper include planetary scientist Christopher P. McKay (NASA Ames Research Center, CA, USA); atmosphere chemistry expert Thomas Koop (Bielefeld University, Germany); expert on physics and chemical biology of water Philip Ball (London, UK); biomolecular scientist Tiffany D. Dallas (Queen’s University Belfast); biophysics-of-lipid-membrane expert Marcus K. Dymond (University of Brighton, UK); theoretical physicist María-Paz Zorzano (Centro de Astrobiologia [CSIC-INTA], Spain); micrometeorology and aerosol expert Juergen Burkhardt (University of Bonn, Germany); expert on acid-tolerant microorganisms Olga V. Golyshina (Bangor University, UK); and atmospheric physicist and planetary scientist Javier Martín-Torres (University of Aberdeen, UK). 

The research was funded by Research Councils UK (RCUK), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Climate change may put Scottish private water supplies at risk of running dry

The latest UK climate projections show a trend towards drier and warmer summers, with the west of Scotland set to become wetter and the east drier, plus more frequent instances of heavy rainfall.

New research by the James Hutton Institute shows that these changing weather patterns are likely to make private water supplies across Scotland more vulnerable to droughts, a major issue considering that private supplies provide drinking water to 4% of Scotland’s population, and to many more through businesses and tourist facilities.

Summer 2018 was unusually dry and warm and many private water supplies ran dry leaving people needing assistance from their local authority. Scotland’s Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) responded on behalf of the Scottish Government by commissioning a report into how climate change is likely to impact the resilience of private water supplies in the future, focusing on water scarcity.

If, as projected, drier and warmer summers are more frequent, private water supplies will be increasingly vulnerable to water shortages. North east Scotland is forecast to experience the largest increase in water shortages, and it is also where there is the highest density of private water supplies. 

Dr Mike Rivington, project lead and co-author of the report, said: “About half of Scotland’s private water supplies are estimated to be within areas of increased vulnerability between now and 2050.

“Future levels of vulnerability are due to reduced water quantity availability combining with specific catchment scale water use, such as for agriculture. Across Scotland this will vary in space and time due to changes in precipitation and temperature that affects the overall water balance.”

Co-author Dr Ioanna Akoumianaki highlights the need for a better understanding of water storage at landscape scales and the potential impacts of dry weather on springs, rivers, lochs and the water table to help assess the risk of private water supplies drying up.

She added: “Awareness of that risk and collaboration between users, local authorities and experts will be key to addressing the challenges and achieving rural supplies that are resilient to changes in the climate.”

Environment and Climate Change Secretary, Roseanna Cunningham, said: “This important research provides more evidence that climate change is having a growing impact on our natural environment and resources – and on our everyday lives.

“The prolonged dry weather in 2018, and again this spring, shows that Scotland is not immune to water scarcity. Events like this will only become more frequent, which is why it is essential that we continue to build on our understanding of climate change effects with research like this. This will help develop our critical adaptation work and support of communities across the country.”

But it’s not just changes in our climate that present potential problems. CREW recently published a study led by Glasgow Caledonian University showing that private water supplies play a vital role in rural economies in Scotland, with many micro- and small businesses relying on them. Reliance on private supplies makes communities in remote areas of rural Scotland potentially less resilient, economically and otherwise.

The report argues that it costs more – directly and indirectly – to access and maintain private supplies and issues with water quality can be detrimental to businesses, further affecting the fragile, interdependent nature of small rural communities.

Whilst tourism is widely regarded as a welcome economic opportunity in rural areas, the sudden rise in water demand, such as along the heavily promoted North Coast 500 tourist route, was recognised as an issue requiring urgent attention. Better regulatory oversight and support and enhanced communication between relevant agencies both locally and nationally is essential so rural businesses and communities can continue to grow.

Prof Bob Ferrier, Director of CREW commented: “Scotland’s climate is changing, and it is important to understand the impacts of that change on our society. Reliance on private water supplies puts users increasingly at risk of both the impacts of climate change and the low resilience to economic impacts.”

Both reports are available for consultation from the CREW website: https://www.crew.ac.uk/publications.

Funded by the Scottish Government, CREW is a partnership between the James Hutton Institute and Scottish higher education and research institutes. For details see www.crew.ac.uk.

Scots are using less water due to fears for the environment

The majority of Scots are reducing how much water they use at home amid environmental concerns, according to new research by Water Plus.

  • More than half (56%) of Scots say they’re using less water at home than they did 12 months ago
  • Two-thirds (67%) cite environmental concerns as their main motivation for cutting back
  • But just two in five (39%) have done similar at work, with water-efficiency bottom of organisations’ sustainability priorities across both the public sector and the private sector, according to employees.

The majority of Scots (56%) have reduced the amount of water they consume at home over the last 12 months, according to research commissioned by the UK’s largest business and public sector water retailer, Water Plus.

The research, published in a new report, surveyed 500 people employed in the private and public sector across Scotland on their attitudes towards water use both at home and at work. Notably, of those who said they had reduced their domestic water use, more than two-thirds (67%) were most motivated to do so because of their concerns about the environment. That’s in comparison to just one in 10 (15%) who have done so primarily to reduce their bills.

But while Scots are increasingly doing things like showering instead of bathing and only using washing machines and dishwashers when full to reduce the amount of water they use at home, more could be done in Scottish workplaces, workers say.

Surveying workers from across the public and private sectors, the study found just two in five (39%) people had acted to reduce their water use at work in the last 12 months, with almost two-thirds (64%) suggesting that their employer could do more to encourage them to be more water-efficient – including highlighting information on water-saving targets and progress towards those.

Water not a priority

According to the research, water is the resource both public sector and private sector organisations are least likely to promote among workers as a way of reducing their environmental impact, behind resources including paper, plastic, glass, energy and food. The findings have been released to provide unique and up-to-date insight for those managing utilities for public bodies to consider their water management further and the opportunity to lower running costs.

Despite water-efficiency being a low priority in the workplace, some Scots are bucking the trend, with a quarter of workers (24%) taking more care of water use at work than at home.  Almost three quarters (70%) of those taking more care at work said the main reason they do so is because their employer encourages them to act more sustainably.

Andy Hughes, chief executive of Water Plus, said: “The findings paint a picture of the Scottish public becoming increasingly in tune with its environmental responsibilities, but not acting with the same sustainable vigour at work as it does at home.

“While we’re seeing a clear trend in people becoming more conscious about how much water they use, the research highlights the significant potential for employers in the public and private sectors to introduce new initiatives to cut consumption at work that could not only reduce bills but also enable them to become more environmentally sustainable. This is not about suggesting workers are wasteful in their water use at work but increasing awareness and encouraging them to take a responsible approach wherever they are.”

The regional outlook

In Scotland’s most heavily populated cities, including Glasgow (60%) and Edinburgh (52%), over half of those questioned have reduced their water consumption at home in the past year. By comparison, three-quarters (75%) of those surveyed in England have reduced their domestic consumption, with Manchester (90%) and Nottingham (89%) proving the most increasingly water-efficient cities.

Andy Hughes added: “As the ‘Blue Planet effect’ continues to influence people’s decision-making in the home, there’s an opportunity for businesses to inspire behaviour change that not only lowers their costs but also contributes to their corporate social responsibility goals.

“It’s evident when looking at issues such as plastic and paper use that there is a direct correlation between those who are encouraged to reduce their environmental impact and those who act – and this can be applied across the board, including for water.”

Water Plus’s new report Flowing in the Right Direction is available to download for free.

Letters: Essential utilities must be publicly owned

Dear Editor

Every one of us needs the supply of electricity and a lot of people also need gas for heating and cooking. We all need a supply of fresh water: yet all of these industries are owned by private companies, able to fix prices to maintain multi-million pounds of profit for investors.

This supply of electricity, gas and water is essential and is provided by workers in those industries.

Why, then, should such essential services be in the hands of private companies? These basic essential services should be publicly owned.

The control of these basic essential services cannot be left to private individuals and groups of investors. It is backward thinking; it is greedy and immoral however measured.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens