Business water bills are at an all-time high in the current climate, so now is the time to start thinking about ways to save water at work and bring your monthly expenses back down to earth. Some of the methods we’ll cover in this list require investment for a long-term solution. But others simply require a change of habit that your employees can all participate in to substantially reduce your business water bills.
Why is it important to save water at work?
Aside from reducing your business water bills, endeavouring to save water at work can positively impact the world around us and contribute to the global effort to conserve water. Only 3% of the world’s oceans can be desalinated and transformed into clean, potable water. Desalination removes minerals and salts from water to make it suitable for human consumption. However, this is an incredibly lengthy and expensive process. The treatment of non-potable water is similarly extensive and costly, so reducing the amount of water running throughout your building is just as beneficial to your business water bills and our environment.
Why are my business water bills so high?
If you are failing to save water at work, despite your best efforts, there may be an underlying reason. For example, leaking taps and broken plumbing systems can lead to unnoticed wastage of water that increases your business water bills tenfold without your knowledge.
It is worth having your plumbing evaluated and regularly maintained to avoid this eventuality. However, it could be that your business water bills are increasing because the number of staff has grown recently. Regardless of the reason, there are some things you can do to save water at work and solve the problem of high business water bills.
How to save water at work
Saving water doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive! In the following list, we will cover a few methods you can employ in your workplace to help bring down your business water bills so you notice a difference when the next one comes through.
- Monitor water usage
Water could be wasted in places you may not have expected. So we recommend installing a smart meter to monitor precisely how much water your business uses, where, and when. This can help you identify whether there may be a leak somewhere or whether your high water bill is because of you or your staff accidentally leaving the water running for long periods. A water meter will help you identify patterns and understand whether changes can feasibly be made.
- Use water-efficient appliances
Everybody needs to use the bathroom. So although you can’t dictate how often your staff go, you can control the volume of water that is flushed while they do. Installing water-saving toilets can greatly decrease your water consumption as a company and help reduce your business water bills.
Before water-saving toilets, every toilet in the UK would use roughly 14 litres of water on each flush. But water-saving toilets can achieve as little as 2.6 litres depending on the model. Toilets are responsible for up to ⅓ of the water used in a home in a single day, so it is safe to assume that number holds true for businesses too. If your building contains multiple toilets, it would be beneficial to replace each of them with a water-efficient alternative to save your business some money.
- Install a stainless steel water tank
A stainless steel water tank will help you save money on your water bills at work. Rather than relying on mains water, you could connect the tank to many systems that use water from various sources to provide water to your building. You could use a rainwater harvesting system to collect rainwater for your heating or bathrooms. Or, you could install a treatment system to make water sourced from rivers and streams potable.
Furthermore, a stainless steel water tank will provide a reserve of water should there be issues with mains water systems. If you already have a stainless steel water tank or any other type of water tank that you don’t use due to its condition, that doesn’t have to be the case. Here at COVAC, we provide water tank refurbishment and relining services to restore water tanks to working conditions. Our services come with a 10-year guarantee. So you can use your water tank cleanly, safely, and without worry for years to come. Contact us now to enquire about our water tank refurbishment services!
- Purchase a water cooler
Most offices have a water cooler because the comparative cost-efficiency of using a tap is far better. When we use a tap, we tend to let it run for a while to ensure the water is cold enough to drink. This wastes more water than you think. And if you have a large team, even more water will be wasted inadvertently. A water cooler negates the use of the tap altogether and can be cheaper than using a tap long-term.
- Conduct a training session for your staff
It can be hard to navigate a staff meeting when the subject is negative. But there is nothing wrong with having an honest conversation with your staff about how much water is used in your offices or buildings and how much it is costing. Involve your staff in the conversation and hear what they have to say. There is a chance they’ll have something constructive to contribute that you may not have even thought about. Perhaps it is the case that your staff genuinely aren’t aware of the impact of their water usage, and changes will be made after your training session.
We hope with this advice, you can begin to make positive changes to your water bills in your workplace and have a better understanding of how excessive water use impacts our planet.
