Did you know

*  13,000 litres of water is used to produce 1kg of beef.

* 1,000 litres of water is used to produce 1kg of wheat.

* 70% of the planets water usage is in agriculture.

(source of information UNEP)

Water shortages could cause military conflicts in the future unless governments take action to manage and preserve this valuable resource.

Wars have been fought over oil and water could be next.

Water is a precious resource which we all take for granted, costs of water and waste water disposal are increasing at alarming rates and governments must plan for the future now to seek practical solutions or we will all be in for a bumpy ride.

H20 were approached by the owner of a large holiday and leisure park in Rhyl, having audited the water and waste water bills, H2o concluded a substantial water loss was occurring some 48,000m3 with a unaccounted money loss of £125,000 per annum.

Action taken:

H2o downloaded visual flow – profiles from a data logger fitted to the water companies main water meter feeding the site, the continual base load at 4 a.m. was 5.5m3 per hour.  H2o leak detection experts were dispatched to site in order to carry out extensive water leak detection to above and below ground water services.  Having spent many days on site, using Aqua Phones and LNC (leak noise correlation) kit, the water leak detection team put together a schedule identifying several underground water leaks, repairs were costed and approved by the client.

H20 then dispatched repair crews to site, excavated and repaired the leaking pipework underground, most of the water leaks were due to the use of incorrect fittings installed underground and broken joints.

Upon completion, over several months further water leak detection and repairs were completed, resulting in annual savings of £120,000 per annum.

Further historical auditing of water bills was undertaken by H20 auditors, identifying further annual savings of £10,000 per annum and after over 1 year of negotiations with the water company, H20 produced refunds of £75,000.

A spokesman for H2o Graham Mann, who is a Senior Partner of the firm said “This is another fine example of putting our 25 years experience to good use, producing fantastic year on year savings, negotiating substantial refunds and saving over 9 million gallons of drinking water going to waste in leakage, that is enough water for nearly 450 average families over 1 year”.

Water cost reduction experts H²O Building Services have been appointed to reduce the water and waste water charges for all 15 Pools and Fitness Clubs throughout the UK.

H²O will be examining water charges, tariffs, auditing previous water and sewerage bills, checking for over-charges, carrying out site surveys and submitting reports containing recommendations for reducing water and waste water costs.

A spokesman for H²O water consultants says ” We are delighted at the appointment, the project will be managed by Senior Partner Graham Mann who has over 25 years experience of reducing water costs for numerous Hotel and Leisure Companies. We look forward to a long successful business association with Greens Health and Fitness”.

Water

Water will be considered and managed as a precious resource, the design of all new health care facilities will include the most efficient technology. Reporting on water use will provide an important part of each NSH organisations own sustainability reporting.

In 2007 – 2008 the NHS in England consumed an estimated 38.8 million cubic metres of water and generated approximately 26.3 million cubic metres of sewerage at a cost of approximately £ 145 million.

Whilst many people think that England has an abundance of water there is actually less water available per person here than in many other European countries. Poor management of water costs the NHS money that could be used for direct patient care and the management, distribution and disposal of water produces carbon which contributes to the overall carbon footprint of the NHS. Using water generates carbon mainly through heating for hot water but also through the energy required to pump water to get it to our taps.

NHS organisations should refer to the Department of Health guidance in HTM 07-04 ‘Water management and water efficiency’ in managing water within the exiting operational estate or commissioning new build or refurbishments of sites.

There are four main aspects of water use that NHS organisations should address: -

1) Measuring, monitoring and reporting on water consumption.

2) Improving efficiency of use.

3) Reducing leakages.

4) Avoiding the use of bottled water.

Low carbon building developments must include the best possible efficiency of water use in the design stage, well before a building is constructed. Potential water use needs to be considered as part of improved building energy use and measured effectively, like all resources it should be valued and used wisely. Water is a contributor to the carbon footprint of the NHS and currently is not metered or measured consistently.

Hot water production is carbon intensive, the DH Estates and Facilities Division and DEFRA are in the process of developing water efficiency measured for the NHS, this include specific studies to investigate how hot water use can be reduced without compromising the standard of health care delivered.

NHS organisation should adopt a policy of using only bottled tap water for meetings or gathering on their sites rather than buying in bottled spring water, it takes energy, transport and many litres of water to produce a half litre bottle of sping water.

leakages always need urgent attention as they can often remain undetected for long periods wasting huge volumes of water and therefore money, across the country over 10% of all water is lost through leakages once it has left the water suppliers infrastructure.

FOR ASSISTANCE IN REDUCING YOUR WATER CHARGES CONTACT H2O BUILDING SERVICES ON 01924 387873  graham.mann@h2obuildingservices.co.uk WE WORK NATIONALLY.

Expert water auditors and water cost reduction consultants begin a key staff recruiting drive.

Graham Mann a spokesman for the firm says ” We are seeing a substantial increase in interest in our services, the results we are producing for our clients are very impressive, savings of 30% are being achieved with paybacks almost immediate, cash refunds due to historical billing errors by the water companies are also up by 60%, we have exciting new service products ready to launch but before we do this we shall recruit key staff such as project managers, water auditors and bureau administrators”

Anyone interested in joining the firm should send in their CV’s.

It certainly pays to use expert water consultants, particularlywhen a water company claims back charges, these are normally due when the water company concerned fail to bill correctly.

In the case of Surrey County Council Thames Water demanded some £ 60,000 for waste water charges that had never been charged, expert water auditors and consultants H²O commenced negotiations with Thames Water and after nearly 4 months H²O agreed a reduced charge of £ 10,000 saving the client £ 50,000.

A spokesman for H²O said “in 8 out of 10 cases the back charges demanded from water companies are not justified”

The final results speak for themselves.

The worlds number one building, plumbing, electric and timber wholesaler Wolseley UK have some 1,500 sites nationwide, they have appointed H²O as a part of their environmental policy on waste and carbon reduction.

Reducing water consumption, waste discharge and other charges H²O are providing the complete turnkey service, bill validation and bureau service, bench marking sites, surveying, identifying reasons for high consumption, producing reports containing recommendations to reduce charges, carrying out all recommendations such as water leak detection, installing water saving devices.

Included within the project is auditing of previous charges, identification of overcharges and negotiation of refunds due to historical billing errors.

Remarkable results have been achieved to date

£ 240,000 of year on year savings.

£ 750,000 of refunds.

H²O will continue to monitor all sites to ensure savings are maintained.

Water companies are busy slapping back charges on customers due to historical billing errors, water auditors and consultants at H²O have seen a marked increase in business in this specific area.

Graham Mann Senior Partner at H²O said “some of the back charges we are taking on are high value charges, we have seen £ 180,000 with a local Council and £ 170,000 to a client  in the North West, whilst refunds due to historical billing errors by water companies seem to be increasing, the replies to our enquiries to repay overcharges to our clients are taking much longer to conclude, 3 months in some cases, yet when back charge are levied to customers they are under constant pressure to pay up immediately”

Usually when H²O get involved a typical back charge can be reduced by as much as 50% and in some case cancelled altogether.

Water consultants H²O are working on a record refund case in excess of £ 1m against Thames Water and Veolia Water Projects Ltd.

Graham Mann Senior Partner of H² O Building Services says ” as with most water companies claims for refunds due to historical billing errors are met with a wall of silence, this case is particularly complex as we are having to trawl through records going back some 15 – 20 years, this is the biggest single refund case we have ever dealt with and it never ceases to amaze me the amounts involved.  I am of the firm belief water companies are over charging customers many millions of pounds, in almost every case our expertise is needed in order to maximise the financial returns for our clients”.

One of the Uk’s leading water consultants H²O Building Services complete negotiations with the water company securing a refund of £ 20,979 due to overcharges and historical billing errors.

This takes the total refunds negotiated by H²O to date for Somerfield to £ 589,773 with on going savings of £ 311,000.

Senior Consultant Graham Mann concludes “We are delighted to be able to report such excellent financial results for our client”.