Environmental News - Water Saving Group announces new action plan to increase water efficiency
The next steps in an action plan to deliver greater water efficiency were set out by Environment Minister Phil Woolas today as he confirmed that a key cross-industry group will operate for another year.
The Water Saving Group (WSG) brings together a range of water industry bodies and was set up two years ago to encourage greater efficiency in the way consumers use water. Its members include Ofwat, the Environment Agency, the Consumer Council for Water, Defra, Water UK, Communities and Local Government, and Waterwise. Over the past two years the group has helped drive a number of important developments to contribute to greater water efficiency.
The overarching aim of the Group is to reduce the current level of per capita consumption in households. Members have agreed to work together on a package of measures, each covering different aspects of water efficiency. They have identified a number of key areas for future work, including:
- the development of proposals for mandatory water efficiency targets for each company from 2010;
- creating an evidence base that will help water companies make appropriate investment decisions;
- completing and reviewing twenty large scale water efficiency projects;
- further work on standards for rainwater harvesting, grey water, and raw water re-use;
- options for improving water efficiency in existing buildings; and
- a review of water efficiency measures in the industrial and commercial sector.
Publishing the revised action plan today, Phil Woolas said:
“Water is a valuable resource. Our supply is limited, but pressure on it is likely to keep rising. We have to be cleverer about how we use water, and that means being more efficient and wasting less.
“The Water Saving Group has scored some important successes towards helping this happen, and not least that a range of organisations, each with its own priorities, has continued to engage constructively and find common ground for making progress on water efficiency. The work we are planning for the year ahead will take these successes and build on them.”
EnviroFutures Ltd, Sheffield Technology Park, 60 Shirland Lane, Sheffield
South Yorkshire, S9 3SP; Tel: 0114 2213516 Email: info@envirofutures.com
———————————————————————————————————