New research reveals simple change we can make to reduce Lancaster district's water usage by 1.3m litres a day

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New research has revealed the one simple change residents in the Lancaster district can make to save over 1.3m litres of water every day.

By reducing the number of times they flush the toilet each day from five times to four, Brits’ daily water usage will drop by 21 litres per household - a total of 577m litres across the UK’s 27.6 million households, and 1.3m litres here in Lancaster.

According to the study, which was conducted by water experts Harvey Water Softeners, the financial savings would also be significant, saving Lancaster £656,000 every year in water bills.

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Sir James Bevan of the Environment Agency has warned that England could run short of water within 25 years if significant savings are not made.

Flushing the toilet less would save significant amounts of water.Flushing the toilet less would save significant amounts of water.
Flushing the toilet less would save significant amounts of water.

Alongside action being taken by the government, water companies and regulators to reduce leakage and address supply, Sir James wants the public to use less water, dropping from an average of 140 litres per day to 100 litres per day - a target set by Waterwise, which campaigns for water efficiency.

Simply flushing the loo less frequently will be enough to get us 50 per cent closer to that target.

Speaking at the Waterwise conference, Bevan said: “Climate change is what’s happening. It means that in the UK we will have hotter and drier summers.

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“That will mean more water shortages: by 2050, the amount of water available could be reduced by 10-15 per cent, with some rivers seeing 50 - 80 per cent less water during the summer months.

"It will mean higher drought risk, caused by the hotter drier summers and less predictable rainfall.

“Result: on the present projections, many parts of our country will face significant water deficits by 2050, particularly in the south east where much of the UK population lives.

"If by 2050 we reduced per capita consumption to 100 litres a day, leakage by 50 per cent, and did nothing else, it would provide enough water for an additional 20 million people without taking any more from the environment."

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Global attention has been focused more than ever on the environmental impact of our actions as the Covid-19 pandemic has progressed.

In September, David Attenborough released his witness statement in the form of TV documentary A Life On Our Planet, raising further awareness of the need to save water, while Google data shows the highest volume of searches for the term “save water” in five years.

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