Hotels and restaurants in England and Wales could make combined savings of nearly £400,000 a day by using water more efficiency, according to new government-backed research.

A study by Government funded sustainability advisory body Envirowise suggests that hotels and restaurants in England and Wales are using 391 million cubic metres every year - enough to fill more than 104,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Reducing this consumption through efficiency could allow the industry to make combined annual savings of up to 129 million cubic metres, worth an estimated £374,000 per day, the research says.

According to Envirowise, addressing water use for the first time can allow a business to make savings of up to 30% of its water and effluent bills. These savings can increase to 50% by investing in long-term water saving projects and technology, it said. 

Clare Sweeney, water specialist at Envirowise, said: “There are many simple low and no-cost ways of improving water efficiency including fixing dripping taps and installing water-saving devices. 

“A tap dripping two drops a second across a year, for example, could waste nearly 10,000 litres of water.”

Envirowise has launched a new free-to-join programme, called Rippleffect, focused on supporting businesses to improve water efficiency. The final deadline for joining the six-month initiative is 10 September. Call the Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585794 or visit: www.envirowise.gov.uk/rippleffect

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By Daniel Thomas

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