Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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20 | NOVEMBER 2019 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk The Knowledge: Water efficiency 500,000 users. "The Savings Engine pro- vides us with absolute granu- larity on fixtures and behav- iour in people's homes," he says. "We believe the insight we have is unique around the world because, although there's been research, there's nothing that's on that level to understand how people use water in the home." For example, Robertson says 50 per cent of users say they are unsure whether every- one in the household turns off the tap when they brush their teeth. Those users can then be informed of the potential savings by making that simple behavioural change. "As you go into your portal, you see a number of 'nuggets' on your saving section that flip up and you'll get those because you as an individual have room to save across all of those areas," Robertson says. "If you add all those up, the average household could save more than 60,000 litres a year." While the Savings Engine was created to bring about greater water efficiency and help people save money, it could also facilitate a greater level of interaction with the public. Given that Ofwat wants to see companies building better relationships with their customers in AMP7, Robertson suggests it could be an impor- tant tool in the coming years. "We can provide our water company clients with a point of contact so they can enter into and continue a dialogue with their customers," he says. "Water companies do engage customers, but they have little ongoing dialogue. "A lot of the current requirements set by Ofwat are about providing customers with more targeted water use plans, better customer service around their water usage, get- ting customers to understand the value of water and helping customers reduce their water consumption." Several water companies in the UK are making use of the Savings Engine and it has also expanded overseas, with contracts in Australia and America. "We've designed it so we can deploy it anywhere in the world," Robertson says. "We also have a business savings engine that we're about to launch in California, which has comparable regulatory obligations to the UK. Then there's a bunch of other overseas water utilities dotted around that we're talking to." Amid growing global awareness about the need for water efficiency – as well as the wider concerns over the state of the environment and climate change – Save Water Save Money believes the abil- ity to empower individuals to help drive change is timely. "I would argue that we as individuals are bombarded by lots of information about what we should be doing but very little is about what you can personally do," Robertson says. "If we can provide facil- ity to help people reduce the impact then that can help the environment. "In 2004, I went to the west coast of America and became a volunteer National Park ranger on a beach. At the end of my three-month tour, although it was just me on a 17-mile stretch of beach, I added up all the effects that my time there could have had and came to the conclusion that one person can definitely make a difference. We all have to start somewhere, and I passionately believe that the sošware we have can help people make a difference." The above graphics show the type of water savings that can be made.