Every drop counts – Olympic sized water savings for Oldham homes and businesses

Every drop counts – more than 2000 homes and 50 organisations across Oldham are saving water and money after taking part in a water efficiency drive.

Since the beginning of the year, United Utilities, in partnership with water efficiency experts Cenergist, has been offering householders with a water meter a free water efficiency audit and installation of an innovative Control Flow water saving device.

The water company for the North West has also worked with Groundwork Greater Manchester to deliver a similar service to organisations including schools, care homes, leisure centres, public sector and small businesses.

Together they are saving almost 44 million litres of water a year – enough to fill 17 and a half Olympic sized swimming pools and over £208,000 from their water bills.*

Following the success of the programme, audits have been extended to include homes and businesses with a water meter in Rochdale, Stockport, and Tameside.

As well as helping to protect water resources in the region, the householders and organisations that have taken part are now benefitting from lower utility bills. The innovative Control Flow technology which is installed for households reduces water waste by smoothing naturally occurring fluctuations in water pressure without any noticeable impact for residents.

Alice Denholm, Water Efficiency delivery manager at United Utilities explained: “Whatever the weather we are keen to encourage people to save water all year round.

“Although we’ve experienced a prolonged dry spell this year, many people don’t think about saving water in the same way they think about saving energy. We launched this efficiency drive at the beginning of the year to encourage householders and businesses to avoid any unnecessary waste of water.

“As well as protecting valuable water resources, it also helps customers take practical steps to save money on their bills.”

On average, a person uses around 140 litres of water a day. Taking just one minute less in the shower will save 12 litres and one fewer load of washing will save around 40 litres. To put that into context, 40 litres is equivalent to 70 pints of milk.

Alice Denholm added: “Oldham has a growing population and, like many other areas in our region, is facing challenges created by a changing climate. This is predicted to include wetter winters and

hotter and drier summers with more drought events. Oldham is one area where we are working together with customers to focus on protecting water resources.”

Water efficiency audits can be booked at Free water saving visits | United Utilities and tips on how to save water at home and in the garden are available at Reduce your water bill.