Help and advice for offices

Encouraging water saving behaviour

With high numbers of staff and visitors using your office buildings, it can be hard to manage user behaviour.

With our range of water saving posters that you can download here, you can influence your staff and/or customers to report leaky loos, other leaks, and use the small flush.

It’s key to educate staff around the cost of water and the wider impact this could have on the business if the water is wasted.

In the kitchen area or canteen

Use a dishwasher instead of washing plates and mugs separately. Modern dishwashers tend to use a lot less water than hand washing.

Run a bowl of water rather than let it run to waste down the plug.

A water cooler will give employees direct access to cold water rather than having to run a tap.

In the toilets or washrooms

Taps - dripping taps can waste a lot of water over time and result in higher bills. If your office has a lot of taps, ask employees to flag up when they spot a tap which is leaking and encourage everyone to turn off taps when not in use. When replacing taps, consider automatic sensor versions which switch on and off without the employee having to do this.

Hosepipes – many businesses use hosepipes for washing purposes. Make sure these hosepipes are switched off when not in use, otherwise money is simply running down the drain.

Urinal flushing - uncontrolled urinals can waste hundreds of litres per hour. If you’re replacing outdated equipment, using a control device can reduce water consumption by up to 70% by ensuring that flushing stops when the premises are not in use.

Toilet flushing - older toilets can use up to 10 litres of water per flush. If you have an older cistern, try a water saving device such as a ‘Save-a-Flush’ bag which helps to reduce the amount of water flushed away.

Leaking toilets – modern dual flush (button operated) toilets can leak due to sticky buttons or passing valves. This can waste over 250 litres an hour so check all toilets regularly for leaks and faulty cisterns.

Showers – if you provide shower facilities in your workplace consider using aerated showerheads which can help reduce water use by up to 50%.

If your staff regularly flush items other than the 3 Ps – pee, poo and paper – down the toilet, then you can also find posters to download here to educate them around what not to flush.

Finding leaks

For larger office buildings, you’ll likely have a fair amount of pipework getting water around the premises, which could make you susceptible to leaks over time.

Quieter periods when you’re closed are the perfect opportunity to scrutinise water meter readings and identify any leaks. Read our how to guide here on how to test for a leak on your site.

If you suspect you have a leak but are struggling to locate it due to extensive pipework, e.g. under a car park, then you can install isolation valves throughout your site to narrow down leaks into specific zones. This doesn’t cost as much as you might think and results in a great return on investment if it saves you time searching for a costly leak.

If you cannot locate a possible leak around your premises, we would also recommend getting in touch with a leak detection company to help you pinpoint the issue.

Wrapping up for winter

Some offices are empty for periods of time, either overnight, during weekends or holidays meaning a burst pipe could go unnoticed and leak huge amounts of water causing internal flooding.

You may want to turn your water temporarily off by using your stop tap if you’re leaving the premises for longer periods. Find out more about how to prepare your premises for winter here.

There are a number of things to be aware of when re-introducing the water supply to your premises after a closure period - find out more here.

Taking advantage of data logging

If you have a number of different office buildings or have difficulty accessing your water meter to read it regularly, it can be really tricky to manage your water consumption.

The answer could be data logging. Water monitoring equipment is connected to the water meter, and you can easily see the analysis of your usage online. You’ll be able to track your water use at a glance, enabling you to spot any potential problems such as leaks and deal with them quickly and efficiently.

Find out more about our paid-for data logging service here.