| 25 February 2008: New report calls on the nation to be water wise |
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BE WATER WISE: NEW REPORT CALLS ON NATION TO PROTECT ONE OF ITS MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCES An overwhelming majority of the British public fail to recognise water saving as a pressing environmental issue, according to a new report released today by Ariel laundry detergent and Waterwise - the UK’s leading authority on water efficiency. The report has prompted the launch of the nationwide ‘Be Water Wise with Ariel’ campaign, fronted by property designer Wayne Hemingway MBE and welcomed by Minister for the Environment, Phil Woolas , to rally the nation to help protect one of its most precious resources. Britain has less available water per head than many other European countries, yet a nationwide survey revealed that when given a choice of five of the main environmental issues facing the country, water shortages were not seen as a priority in almost 80% of cases . While many Britons have already taken steps to live more sustainable lives by recycling and doing their bit to save energy, experts believe periodic prolonged rainfall and floods have led to misunderstandings around the need to save water. Jacob Tompkins, Director, Waterwise, said: ‘The past two years has seen the worst droughts and floods for a century in parts of the UK. Although these events give different messages to the public about available water supply and the need to be water efficient, both lead to restrictions on public water supply. Climate change means that we will see even more extreme weather in the future. Already, the South East of England has less available water per person than Sudan and Syria.’ ‘Our increasing population is part of the issue – it is predicted that by 2027 water stress will be a serious problem worldwide and the average supply of water is expected to drop by at least a third. It’s imperative that we all work together now to implement simple changes that will ultimately make a significant impact on the well being of our planet,’ he added. KEY FINDINGS • One in four of us are still using the pre-wash setting on our washing machines – wasting more than 6 billion litres per year. If everyone stopped pre-washing we could save enough water to fill more than 6000 Olympic sized swimming pools . Wayne Hemingway said: “The statistics sound worrying but in truth there are many small things we can all do around the home to make a difference. 50 per cent of the country’s water consumption is down to household use so it’s an important place to start taking action. To put this into context, if we saved the water we waste in a week it would be enough to supply over 6 million UK families for one week .” The key thing to remember is that this initiative is not about restricting use – it’s about being water wise and reducing waste.” Phil Woolas, Minister for the Environment said: "We all know that climate change is happening, but many of us don't connect it with the need to waste less water. Making a few simple changes to some of our everyday habits can cut down the amount of water we use. There is an increasing role for new technology and new products to help us go further. It's excellent to see this sort of initiative." Ariel and Waterwise are working in partnership to inspire and enable British households to take action to conserve precious water without compromising their lifestyle. For water saving tips and advice visit www.ariel.co.uk/water.
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As part of their sustainability commitment, in 2006 Ariel partnered with Energy Saving Trust to encourage UK households to ‘Turn to 30°’ by lowering their washing temperature to 30 degrees saving over 40% in energy consumption. Ariel’s advanced ‘cool clean’ technology enables users to achieve brilliant cleaning even at low temperatures. Waterwise |