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Over the past decades demand for water has risen steadily. Using water, especially hot water, uses energy and causes emissions of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. You should use water more efficiently to help ensure everyone's needs continue to be met in the future.

Typical costs of water use in business

All businesses can benefit from using water efficiently. In manufacturing, water bills can cost over one per cent of turnover. Most businesses could halve their water bill by implementing simple and economical water minimisation measures.

You could be paying more for water and associated costs than you need to. The cost of using water isn't only what you pay to the water company for its supply. Other costs to your business may include:

• disposal of your wastewater, either as a percentage of the amount of water you use or by the strength of your effluent
• losses due to leaks and wasteful appliances
• the energy you use to heat or cool water
• wasting water, for example excessive washing down
• pumping and storing
• heating
• capital depreciation of and maintaining equipment and infrastructure
• materials or products lost in wastewater, for example metals lost by poor control at metal plating facilities
• meter size charges

Using less water may mean that you can rely fully on the mains supply and not have to pay for a licence to abstract water from the environment. You should review which option is best for your business as you may not need to use high quality mains water for all your activities, for example cooling.

How much money could my business save through water efficiency?

You could save up to 30 per cent of your water costs through simple, low cost actions, for example fixing a leak from a single cold water tap could save you up to 拢900 per year.

There are also non-financial benefits of using water efficiently. Suppliers and customers are increasingly environmentally conscious, demanding that businesses use natural resources sustainably. By demonstrating your water efficiency you can attract and retain customers and employees. You can also create interest from investors, stakeholders and the media by showing that your business is well managed.

Practical water efficiency advice

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The only way to gauge the true cost of your water use is by analysing it systematically. You should:

• study your water bills - do this over the previous two or three years noting the annual consumption and cost
• identify any trends or patterns - you may be able to pick out seasonal variations
• involve your staff, for example you could get them to complete a water use survey
• produce a water balance - this is a numerical account of where water enters and leaves your business and where it is used
• carry out a benchmarking exercise and compare your water use to other businesses in your industry sector

For more information on water balances and benchmarking, see how to monitor your water use.

Once you have identified the amount of water your business uses and where you use it, you should identify where you can make savings. Lowering your utility bills will save you money and give you a competitive edge.

You could draw up a plan that details how you will reduce your water use and when the improvements will be carried out.

You may have already analysed your water use patterns if you have an environmental management system in place.

Practical water efficiency advice

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Minimising water use in your business can require financial commitment. However, many measures are cheap and simple to implement and could potentially save you up to 30 per cent of your water costs.

Saving water top tips

To become a more water efficienct businesss you could:

• Only use water when you need to. Record how much water your business uses on a daily or weekly basis to understand your demands. This will help you decide the best ways to save water and money. If you abstract water it will also help you comply with the conditions of your licence or authorisation.
• Educate staff about implementing water-efficiency measures. You could include their roles and responsibilities in a water policy statement, for example to report leaking taps straight away.
• Get buy-in from management and involve staff with responsibility for facilities, finance and operations in water minimisation measures from the outset. This may form part of an existing environmental policy - see how to write an environmental policy and making the case for environmental improvements.
• Appoint a member of staff to monitor water use and identify minimisation opportunities, for example by doing a regular walk-round survey of your business and reading water meters. If parts of your business use a lot of water, consider installing sub-meters - see how to analyse how much water you use.
• Buy water efficient new equipment. This may mean a larger initial investment, but it will pay off in the long term.
• Protect against cold weather-related leaks by insulating pipes and checking them regularly.
• Investigate alternative water sources, such as harvesting rainwater through a roof catchment or reusing wastewater from wash basins and showers, known as greywater. Once captured, you can use the water where non-drinking water is required, for example to flush toilets.
• Fit water-minimising controls, such as push taps, low-flush toilets, flow regulators or restrictors. The payback period for installing flush controls on urinals can be as little as five weeks.
• Review your plans to reduce water use, ideally at least once a year.
• Consider treating your wastewater to reuse it for industrial uses, toilet flushing and irrigation which do not require water fit for drinking. Using less treated drinking water will save you money - see reducing and treating your trade effluent.
• Check your meter size is appropriate to the amount of water you use. If it is larger than you need, you may be paying more than is necessary.
• Check your meter location and the supplies it measures, for example in industrial and business parks where a neighbouring business may be supplied through your meter. Also check that your meter serial number matches the number on your bills and that you are being billed for your own meter.
• Fix drips and leaks as quickly as possible.

For more information on facilities such as washrooms, catering and laundry areas, see how to save water at commercial premises. For information on washing and rinsing processes, see how to save water at industrial premises.

Practical water efficiency advice

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You must have authorisation from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) to abstract water from:

• surface waters such as rivers, lakes and wetlands
• coastal waters - water within three nautical miles of land
• transitional water, such as estuaries and water in the vicinity of river mouths
• underground strata such as wells, boreholes and springs

You may also need authorisation from the NIEA if you own, operate, maintain or plan an impoundment, such as a reservoir, which is used to store water.

Apply for an abstraction authorisation

Abstracting less than ten cubic metres (m鲁) of water a day with minimal risk to the environment is called a permitted controlled activity (PCA). You don't need to contact the NIEA, but you must:

• be able to demonstrate the volume of water you abstract
• minimise water leaks
• prevent any contamination or pollution

If you take between 10m鲁 and 20m鲁 a day, you must notify NIEA and comply with PCA conditions.

If you abstract more than 20m鲁 you need an abstraction licence from NIEA. You will need a:

• simple licence if you abstract between 20m鲁 and 100m鲁 of water per day
• complex licence if you abstract more than 100m鲁 of water per day

Both licences may be subject to conditions such as the maximum rate at which you can abstract water and the maximum volume you can take in any day.

Apply for an impoundment authorisation

You can impound water without contacting the NIEA as long as your impoundment:

• does not control the water level upstream
• is not associated with an abstraction of water
• does not create a difference in height of more than one metre between the upstream and downstream water surfaces

You will need an impoundment licence from the NIEA to impound water in all other circumstances.

NIEA can review, modify or remove a licence if the licence holder requests it, or to prevent significant or serious damage to the environment. You may also need to submit an environmental statement to NIEA before starting projects that use more than 200m鲁 of water per day, for example agricultural spray irrigation.

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