Water Efficiency in Offices

Every year, companies like yours get through a vast amount of water on day to day essentials like catering and washrooms. The chances are that you are using more water than you need to and you could reduce the amount through minimal investment. This would not just achieve significant cost savings, but it would also lessen your impact on the environment.

How water efficient are you?

In a recently commissioned study into office water use in our water supply area, we discovered there were four factors that had the most effect on consumption. These were:

• Office size (floor space)
• Number of employees
• Catering facilities
• How efficiently water is used

There may not be many surprises there. However, we also found that three quarters of offices in the Thames Water area are probably using more water per employee than they need to and, as a consequence, are throwing money down the drain.

In fact, we believe that about half of all the offices in our area could cut at least 25% off their water bills by implementing some simple water-saving measures. Offices with very high consumption might even save 50% or more. To help you work out the amount of water you could expect to be using if your office was truly water efficient, we have produced some realistic Water Use Targets (shown below) that you should be aiming for.

Target water usage per employee per annum m3

Making a start

A quick look around your office will identify some 'quick wins' for saving water simply and efficiently. There are also other measures worth taking that will pay you back over the longer term. It would be a good idea to carry out a basic audit of your office's water use so you can pinpoint areas for improvement. Here are some of the things to look at:

1. Monitoring water consumption

This should always be the first step towards effective water management and it's easy to do. The bills we send give valuable information about patterns of water use and can help you identify potential problems. Try plotting on a graph your office's annual water use over three or four years to see if there is an increasing trend. This may indicate a leak in your underground supply pipe - clearing this up will save water and money.

2. Public washrooms

 It's important here to make sure all water fixtures are regularly maintained. Dripping taps and overflowing cisterns can be a constant drain on resources. A range of water efficient devices are available to reduce unnecessary wastage. For example, percussion taps which turn themselves off after a fixed length of time.

• Toilets : Any toilet cistern installed before 1993 may well be using more water than it needs to. Putting a 'Hippo' device in a cistern can save up to three litres per flush. Multiply this by the amount of daily flushes and you can see how it mounts up. 'Hippos' are easy to fit and you can get them by calling our Customer Centre on 0845 9200 800 or you can order Hippos online. We'll even give you the first one hundred free of charge.

• Urinals : Automatic flushing in gentlemen's toilets is a common source of wasted water because it continues even when urinals are not in use, for instance during the night. You can make flushing more cost-effective by installing automatic flush control systems, which only allow flushing when it's needed.

3. Catering areas

If your company has a restaurant or catering area then there's even more opportunity to minimise your water use. We have found that considerable savings could be made by making staff aware of the efficient use of water. For instance, by making sure taps are not left running and by encouraging good practice. Why not give a briefing session or put up some posters as a reminder? Tap controllers, which stop water flow automatically, may also be a solution.