Even if you did not notice the water saving toilets and the systems that turn off water when toilets are not used, everyone seems to know about our water saving taps!
Water Saving is one of our biggest single successes and much of this is due to the efforts of one person.
The figures below speak for themselves.
| Financial Year |
Water Litres Used |
| 1998/99 |
36,026,000 |
| 1999/00 |
35,708,000 |
| 2000/01 |
33,660,000 |
| 2001/02 |
30,925,000 |
| 2002/03 |
28,099,000 |
| 2003/04 |
26,645,000 |
| 2004/05 |
10,934,000 |
| 2005/06 |
10,149,000 |
| 2006/07 |
10,343,000 |
| 2007/08 |
9,516,000 |
| 2008/09 |
7,250,000 |
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Water usage is reduced by various methods; the effluent treatment plant installed by the Company in 2003 enables us to recycle 75 – 80% of the water it used to dump down the drain, and the effect of this can be seen by the fall in consumption in 2004/5.
Since then consumption has fallen further, by around another 600,000 litres, which you may think is not much, but it’s still about the same amount as 12 houses use in a year!
However, there is much more to this as, with guidance, the Finishing department has embraced a whole series of procedural changes prolonging the life of the tanks of chemical solutions used in its processes. |
The department chemist has been almost solely responsible for the continual analysis of the chemicals and monitoring for contaminants, and Tanks that contain 2000litres of water and chemicals, which were being emptied and refilled weekly, can now have a working life of up to one year.
Using water meters strategically placed on the water supplies, a complete water monitoring program looks at all water usage in the factory even breaking it down to usage by the kitchens, toilets and coffee machines, and this method of in depth analysis has enabled water usage to be reduced.
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So, in summary, with sound advice and the co-operation of everyone working in the Finishing, this department has drastically reduced chemical consumption, and thus the number of deliveries they require, minimised the amount of process water poured down the drain (in fact, there drain is now dry for days in a row) and since 2004, have gradually decreased the number of tankers to take waste that we cannot deal with.
Up to 2004 there was an average of approximately 75 tankers per year on site to remove effluent waste and the department sets itself targets to reduce the need, year on year, until last year 2007, just 26 tankers were required. |
The target for 2008 is just 20 tankers and only 10 will be for process waste!
They also set a target for their water usage – just 6,000,000 litres.
Which means the rest of us are responsible for using the other 4,000,000 litres. Can improvements be made?
Lastly:-
The Earth shines blue because 70% of the world is covered in water.
However, only 3% is fresh water as the rest is salty.
Just 3% for the 6,650,000,000 people, currently living today.
And the 9,000,000,000 expected to be living in 2050.
And all the animals and plants on earth……….
And of the 3%,…… ¾ is frozen……………