We are proud to provide a sustainable, affordable, clean and safe water supply and to manage and treat the waste water returned to us in a way that protects the environment.
19/12/2008
3,000 water customers in Chelmsford have taken part in a credit crunch busting project to help them make the most of water.
The ‘H2eco’ project gave homeowners the opportunity to choose from a selection of free water efficiency products for the home and garden to help save two of our most precious resources: water and money.
Essex & Suffolk Water invited 15,000 customers in the Chelmer Village, Springfield, Broomfield and Melbourne area to choose water saving products suited to their individual needs.
The products offered included a water butt, a dual-flush WC retrofit device, an aerated showerhead, a variety of tap aerators, a bath measure, a children’s activity pack, water storing crystals for hanging baskets and a trigger hose gun to help save water when washing the car. Other services provided as part of the initiative included the chance to have dripping taps repaired. The products were delivered and, where necessary, installed in the home and garden and it was all free of charge.
Over 15,000 water-saving products were delivered as part of the project. As a result each household that took part is saving on average 24 litres per day, which equals about 8,760 litres per year. This is the equivalent to each customer saving 110 full baths per year or flushing the toilet over 970 times.
The Tufnell family from Chelmsford took part in the project. Rachel, Paul and their 5 year old daughter Rebecca are now saving an impressive 72 litres a day. This is a saving of a bath full of water every day.
From the products on offer the family selected a Miracle tap adaptor (which fits on to a kitchen tap and produces a restricted spray flow), a water butt, water storing crystals for hanging baskets and pot plants, and a children's water detective kit.
The family have a water meter, so as well as doing their bit to help the environment by not wasting water, they can also expect to save money. If this saving was maintained for a year, then the family could save about £60.
Like customers who do not have a water meter and have taken part in the project, by saving water Rachel and Paul can also expect to reduce their energy bill. Being careful about water usage means there will be less water to heat. Water efficiency campaign group, Waterwise, advise that hot water accounts for about 24% of the energy bill in the average house.
Rachel said: “We were really impressed by the H2eco project. We are on a water meter so it was great to be able to pick products free of charge that will help us make our water go further and save money on our bill.”
Ursula Trolan, Demand Planning Analyst for Essex & Suffolk Water said: “The water savings that have been made as a result of the project are very encouraging and we hope that customers that have taken part will have made permanent changes to the way that they use this precious resource.”
“Essex is one of the driest parts of the country, receiving on average less than 600 millimetres of rain a year, which many people will be surprised is less than Jerusalem, so it is important that we all do what we can to conserve water.”
Using water wisely fact file:
• The average person in the region uses nearly 160 litres of water per day – that’s over 58,000 litres of water a year
• A dripping tap can waste 26 litres of water in 24 hours, which is enough for a shower
• Leaving the tap running when you clean your teeth can waste up to 10 litres of water each time
• Toilet flushing alone uses about one third of an average household’s water consumption
• A garden sprinkler can use the equivalent of seven baths of water in just one hour – that’s nearly 500 litres.
• Essex & Suffolk Water has been running water efficiency projects since 1997 and has since contacted over 149,000 households
For further information please contact Sarah Pinkerton on 01245 212862