Whilst many of us will be pleased that the warmth and sunshine has arrived, it’s important not to forget that southern and eastern parts of England are still officially in drought. Our perception of having enough water in the UK is a falsehood.
In reality, we have less water per person in the UK than in Morocco!
Rain, rain and more rain has been on the weather menu for the past six weeks. As we all know, April was the wettest on record in the UK and May began in a similar vein. The British weather is notorious for its variability and we all hope that it doesn’t dampen spirits too much with so many events in the tourism calendar over the coming months.
Up until the start of April, England had seen around 18 months of very low rainfall – the driest on record in some areas. This lack of rainfall also included two consecutive dry winters which exacerbated the problem greatly. Whilst south east England and East Anglia have experienced heavy rainfall in recent weeks, these parts of England remain in drought with some water companies still having hosepipe bans in place.
Whilst we are all aware that the hotel industry encourages us to reduce the laundering of towels, for instance, how we can encourage hotel guests and staff to consider further measures in reducing water consumption is a hot topic and one that Victoria Kendrew, from WaterlessUK, is passionate about. ?Each and every one of us?, she says, ?has a duty to be more aware of our water use and efficiency?. Victoria believes that by demonstrating true financial savings, companies will be encouraged to fulfil their Corporate Responsibility.
As part of continued support to the tourism industry, Victoria is a key member of the Defra project, ?Tools available to business to quantify and reduce their water impacts?. This project supports businesses in the tourism industry by giving free advice on how to conserve water and ultimately costs. With hosepipe bans still in place this means we can all make changes on a daily basis. As part of the Defra project, the panel look at how businesses are at risk of suffering from further restrictions of water supplies.
One of Victoria?s favourite devices is a drip irrigation system, connected to a water butt, making it an ideal way to water your garden during a hose pipe ban; it uses only rainwater and no power source other than the sun!
For further advice go to www.waterlessuk.com or email your questions to Victoria at [email protected]
WaterlessUK have been working alongside businesses in the Water Industry for more than 10 years. Victoria attends major conferences and remains on the Defra and Consumer Council for Water panels.
We support UK Manufacturers and are UK distributors for the leading water saving devices and sanitary ware in the UK.