4 July 2013

Walsall-based South Staffs Water has supported the findings of a study by the Energy Saving Trust which found that British householders are wasting millions of litres of water every day – and paying out many millions of pounds more on their energy bills as a result.

At Home with Water, a report commissioned by the Energy Saving Trust Foundation in partnership with DEFRA, Procter and Gamble, Thames Water, Consumer Council for Water and SaveWaterSaveMoney, looked at the water use of 86,000 British households – the largest study of its kind to have been done in the UK. It found that, on average, Britons use 142 litres of water every day.

The results, released today, showed that showers are the biggest users of water, using a quarter of the nine billion litres of water we consume each day. The average length of time people stay in the shower is seven-and-a-half minutes – but cutting that time by just a minute would save British householders £215million on their energy bills a year.

A quarter of respondents have efficient eco-showerheads installed, but a similarproportion has high-flow power showers. Currently, SSW is giving away Flowpoint Eco Showerheads, which can reduce the amount of water used from around 15 litres to just eight litres per minute, and therefore it means less water has to be heated too.

The report also showed that three quarters of us overfill the kettle when making a cuppa – costing Britain £68m a year

The Energy Saving Trust is urging Britons to follow three simple tips to save water and energy. An average UK household could save £22 on their energy bills each year, with metered households saving an additional £13 on their water bills by:

• Showering smarter – installing an eco-shower head
• Turning it down – washing clothes at 30C - saving 40 per cent on a wash at 50-60C
• Budgeting your brews – boil only the water you need when you fill the kettle

Alex Martin, Head of Water Strategy at SSW commented: "The report shows just how much money householders are pouring down the drain every day. By making a few simple changes, they can make a real difference to their water use, save on energy bills, and for metered customers, cut those down too."

SSW has a range of free water saving devices available for customers. For information and to order them, go to our website: www.south-staffs-water.co.uk