Saving Water
Water - We all need it, we can’t live without it, and yet we are using more and more of it. 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! Although we appear to have plenty of rain in Guernsey, our water resources are constantly under pressure.
We use 70% more water today than we did 40 years ago, mainly due to our change in lifestyle. Population growth also puts strain on supplies, and with the unknown effects of global warming and the associated climate change, we must ensure that we use water as sensibly as possible. By way of an example, we each use an average of nearly 140 litres of water a day in our homes, whilst our great grandparents managed with about 18 litres.
The collection, treatment and distribution of water requires huge amounts of energy to both treat and pump it to our houses, so our thirst for water is damaging our planet in more ways than one.
How You Can Save Water
The good news is that there are many simple things you can do at home, at work, and in the school to reduce your consumption of water. As well as helping to secure our water supply both for ourselves and for future generations, you also benefit in many other ways. By cutting down on your water use you can:
- Save money
- Reduce the possibility of water shortages and summer water rationing
- Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases which are responsible for global warming
- Reduce the amount of energy and chemicals used in the treatment and pumping of water
- Reduce damage to wildlife habitats in wetlands and rivers
- Reduce the fall in groundwater levels, thereby reducing stress on woodlands.
Guernsey Water has put together some information sheets that give you helpful tips on how to save water. These can be downloaded by clicking on the titles below.
Guernsey Water has also created a 'Saving Water Sticker' which features the message 'Water is precious - please do not waste it' translated into a number of different languages. If you would like some of these stickers, please contact us.
Water Management Plans
Guernsey Water has put together a Water Management Plan guidance pack, which will allow schools and businesses in the Island to make a few small changes to their water usage and enjoy much cheaper bills!
A Water Management Plan (WMP) is a simple way of identifying a number of ways in which the water efficiency of a school or business can be improved by thinking about water usage and reducing waste.
Saving water is a virtuous cycle - by reducing water usage, people pay less for their water bills, and they also use less energy to heat the water. Guernsey Water will not have to treat so much water which will obviously reduce the amount of energy we use, and reduce our carbon footprint.
The great thing about these plans is that they consist of very simple steps and small changes. When you add these small changes up though, the cumulative reductions and savings can be significant.
Some of these actions can be incredibly simple - fixing new washers to leaking taps could save hundreds of litres of water for the cost of a few pounds. Making sure that dishwashers are fully loaded rather than half-filled will also save water and the energy used to heat that water.
Further simple initiatives outside the building can make big differences too. Fitting a water butt to collect rainwater from the roof and then using this for watering grassy areas or cleaning pathways can save hundreds of litres of water.
To download the Water Management Plan guidance pack for schools, please click here.
To download the Water Management Plan guidance pack for businesses, please click here.
Many of the documents on this website require Adobe Reader in order for you to see them properly. If you do not have this installed on your computer, it can be downloaded free by clicking here.