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Water efficiency advice

Make saving water your business.

It's everybody's job to save water . All businesses, no matter what size, can work with their staff to help reduce water usage and save on their bills.

  1. People power - let your teams know you're on a mission to save water. Share our posters, have an introductory chat, a suggestion box and increase awareness about using water wisely.

    Appoint a meter champion - start monitoring your water usage. Pick a meter champion, ask them to read the meter weekly or monthly. A sharp increase may highlight a leak.

    Stop it. Stop it - let your teams know how important it is to report leaks. Tell them who to report it to. Why not set water usage targets and encourage all staff members to get on board?

  2. Cool it - store jugs of water in the fridge instead of running the tap, or use a water cooler.

    Feed the dishwasher - use a dishwasher or dip into a bowl of hot water to wash up. Don't leave taps running to wash individual mugs or plates.

    Turn taps off - don't leave taps running constantly for vegetable washing, rinsing or defrosting.

    Spare the kettle - don't overfill the kettle and only boil what you need.

  3. Fit push taps - turning off the taps stops costly constant drips. Consider fitting push or sensor taps to reduce water running to waste.

    Minimise every flush - older toilets can use up to 13 litres every flush. Installing a flushsaver device can save up to 1.2 litres per flush.

    Save whilst spending every penny - uncontrolled urinals can waste 100's of litres of water per hour. Fit control devices or fit PIR sensors (passive infrared) to control flushing frequency.

    Super efficient showers - installing aerating showerheads can reduce the flow by 50%, while timers encourage staff to take shorter showers.

    Make a splash - check all toilets for leaks as modern push loos can leak due to sticking buttons or faulty valves and waste up to 250 litres an hour.

  4. Hang-up the hosepipe and sprinklers - they can use more water in an hour than a family of four uses in a day. Fit trigger nozzles or try to limit usage.

    Wheely clean - dusty transport still does the job, so only clean vehicles when they really need it. Why not use recycled water?

    Water less - choose shrubs that love dry conditions and try to water plants early morning or evening to reduce consumption.

    Butts are best - collect rainwater and keep thirsty plants topped up for free with water butts.

    Windows can wait - look for opportunities to reduce window cleaning activities during the summer or recycle collected rainwater.

Being more water efficient can help your business save money, help the environment and reduce your carbon footprint too.

Please feel free to download our handy posters and leaflets to help you use water wisely.

Water conservation A4 posters

Water conservation A4 posters - unbranded

Water conservation A5 roll leaflet

Water conservation A5 roll leaflet - unbranded

Water saving tips for bigger businesses

Set water usage targets per department and encourage widespread involvement.

Hold water efficiency sessions or introduce an employee suggestion scheme to increase awareness of using water wisely.

Read your meters regularly and highlight any sharp increases which may indicate a leak.

Using water more efficiently can help your business comply with environmental legislation and reduce your carbon footprint.

Understand and map your private pipework systems to enable you to locate and isolate leaks quickly.

Smart technology now allows businesses to monitor water usage on a 15 minute basis. This can help identify areas where savings can be made.

Install sub meters to monitor usage in different parts of the factory.

Fit trigger locks to hoses used in cleaning down and knee and pedal operated taps for controlled hygienic cleaning.

Recycle water by using rinse water from processes or CIP systems.

Optimise water used in heating systems, boilers or steam generators.

Look for opportunities to make processes water efficient which will also reduce waste water costs.

Use hot water more efficiently and re-use heat from hot water - this not only saves water but also reduces energy costs.

Investigate use of alternate sources such as river/borehole water or greywater/rainwater for cooling or washing down.

Check valves and fittings regularly for leaks.

Some tell-tale signs to help you spot leaks 

- Damp patches in or outside the property

- Lush vegetation in dry periods may be indications of leaking pipes

- Leaking overflow systems

Metered customers – diagnosing a leak

If your meter reading or bill is unusually high it may indicate you have a leak. You can use your meter to check if you have a leak on the pipework after the meter -

- Turn off all taps

- Find your water meter and take a reading (including the red digits)

- Do not use any water for a length of time (e.g. overnight)

- Read the meter again

If the second reading is higher than the first there may be a leak.

Many businesses now have smart technology that allows them to monitor and get data on water usage at regular intervals. This can help identify abnormal or unusual usage such as a leak. Regular monitoring means any such anomalies can be quickly investigated.

Free Save a flush cistern bags

To help businesses in our region reduce water use at their offices and other premises Yorkshire Water is offering free Save a Flush cistern bags.  Simply drop a Save a Flush in each toilet cistern* and reduce your cistern by 1.2 litres, saving this much water with every flush.

*Please note: Save-a-Flush bags are not suitable for dual flush toilets, or for cisterns with a capacity of less than 7 litres. If you install a Yorkshire Water Save a Flush bag and find you have to flush the toilet more than once, please remove the bag from the cistern as you may already have a low flush toilet.

If your business is based in the Yorkshire region, and you would like to request some Save a Flush bags, please contact your Water Retailer and let them know how many you would like.

Retailers, when you receive a request please submit an F4 form so that our Wholesale Service Desk can get this processed.

Your staff can also fit water saving devices in their homes by ordering a free water saving pack.

Please ask any employees, who are Yorkshire Water customers, to order a pack through our website or we can provide you with water saving leaflets including a freepost returns coupon for you to distribute to your employees to order a pack for their home.