Water saving guide

Water represents an increasingly precious and less accessible resource for a large part of humanity, also due to climate change. A guide to water saving can be a useful tool to identify critical points and possible solutions that allow individuals and businesses to lighten their impact on the environment, while simultaneously reducing their management costs.

97% of the water on our planet is salty. The remaining 3% of fresh water includes glaciers and permanent snow. This effectively reduces the amount accessible to humans to 1%. However, this percentage includes water retained in groundwater or dispersed in the atmosphere, in addition to surface water.

Worldwide, about 70% of water is used for activities related to agriculture, but consumption is high in industry and in the domestic environment too.

By 2030, demand for water is expected to increase by 40% globally. If we consider the uneven distribution of the resource in the world, our first priority should be to activate water saving policies: with our guide we suggest some tips.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda has included among the 17 global goals to be achieved by 2030 also “Ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for everyone”, and the decade 2018/2028 was dedicated to the question “Water for sustainable development”.
Let’s explore all the ways to reduce waste in an easy water saving guide.

Let’s discover why it is important to take action as citizens and as companies on the water saving front.

From a socio-environmental point of view it is important to preserve a resource whose availability is decreasing every year. The World Economic Forum estimates that nearly 25% of the world’s population is already experiencing a water crisis, and that this percentage will rise to 60% over the next five years.
Indirectly, saving water can help prevent the most important consequences that can arise from the lack of an adequate water supply:

• cost increase;
• reduction of food supplies;
• health risks;
• political conflicts.

Furthermore, the lack of water caused by global warming has a dramatic impact on biodiversity and causes the disappearance of many plant and animal species every year.

As we have said, proper water management is important for human health and ecosystems. We must add that, combined with the activation of water saving strategies, it also ensures the economic growth of nations and companies. The World Bank estimates that the water shortage could cost some regions up to 6% of their GDP by 2050.
In 2018, companies worldwide recorded financial losses of over 38 billion dollars due to water emergencies.

Last but not least, protecting the water resource also through water saving allows keeping our cities efficient and safe: hospitals, petrol stations, municipal hygiene services, shopping centers, gyms and restaurants require large quantities of water to provide services to the community. Saving water also means guaranteeing continuity to these services.

Some useful tips can help reduce water waste and aim at saving water, both at the domestic, industrial and infrastructural level.

The Italian water infrastructure has almost 425,000 kilometers of pipes, along which 44% of the supply is lost. In this case, more than tips, hard facts: the country is investing to modernize the water network and reduce waste, which ranks Italy among the European countries with the highest water consumption (2,303 cubic meters per inhabitant, + 25% compared to the average European).

As for household waste, according to some studies, 44% of the damages in European homes is related to the water network: burst pipes, infiltrations from the roof or ceiling, drips from corroded pipes, leaks from equipment.

Worldwide, just in 2018, companies suffered financial damage of over 32 billion euros as a result of water emergencies. Even in an industrial/production context, the timely detection of water leaks is crucial to limit damage, repair costs and water waste.

Our tips cannot miss the second strategy to reduce water waste. It consists of favouring water saving and of course adopting behaviors and technologies that favor a conscious and responsible consumption of water, both in a domestic context and in an industrial, productive or commercial context.
Some practical tips, which can fit the domestic environment as well as the professional one:

• repair leaks and drips, because ignoring a toilet that leaks 1 liter of water per minute means wasting more than 43,000 liters per month, with the related costs;
• replace old systems and appliances with high water efficiency models;
• use taps with jet breakers and / or aerators, capable of reducing water consumption by at least 30%;
• irrigate gardens and green areas preferably in the evening, to reduce evaporation;
• use tools for cleaning that allow less use of water or allow its reuse;
• inform and educate roommates / collaborators about behaviors that favor water saving:
• constantly monitor water consumption and related costs.

Preventing leaks is the most effective among the water saving solutions. It allows not only limiting water waste, but also to reduce the risk of damages, especially in commercial or tertiary contexts.

Solutions such as building automation allow continuously monitoring environments and consumptions and to report any critical issues and anomalies in real time.
To reach an uncompromising level of safety, ELTEK has developed solutions such as E-WATERBLOCK, an intelligent device allows detecting problems in the water supply and block the water flow before excessive consumption or damage occurs.

E-WATERBLOCK is installed upstream from the water connection. It does not require maintenance or electricity and it is blocked in case of anomalies.

It is particularly suitable for the systemic control of machines used for the distribution of water, coffee, drinks or ice, and for the monitoring of work spaces and public places where they are installed: offices, airports, stations, shopping centers, gyms, wellness centers, hotels, restaurants and more.

E-WATERBLOCK can also be used in the home to eliminate the risk of excessive consumption and water damage caused by washing machines and dishwashers.

Monitoring is easily accessible through the specific ELTEK APP application. Once configured, the app allows receiving notifications and immediate reports in the event of anomalies and also to view a consumption history in the previous 12 months.