How we use much more water than we think in Britain

By Benjamin Clarke | Published on 4th September 2018

A recent water saving research campaign by a bathroom manufacturer revealed that people use an average of five times the amount of water than they realise, despite 81% of Brits expressing that they are conscious about their water usage. This article will show some of the information from that survey and why it is so important for the UK's water usage moving forward.

The key statistics
Showers - high water usage
Water waste hot spots
The BMA Scheme

The Key Statistics

People estimate that they use 29 litres of water per day – in reality the average use is 150 litres per person per day
Those showering let the water run for an average of 1 minute 18 seconds before getting in –24 seconds longer than in 2011
The average time spent in the shower is 8 minutes – this uses over 60 litres of hot water
9% believe that there is so much rain in the UK that we don’t need to save water.
47% have never even considered installing water saving products in their homes.
57% of people living with house mates said they shower every day compared to the base national average of 39%.
36% of those who live on their own, with a partner or family shower as often.
27% of those in shared households shower for over 13 minutes, compared with 14% who live on their own.

A spokesperson from the company involved in the survey said: “We carry out our Water Saving research to help us understand the key factors contributing to consumers’ water wastage, and improve our campaign to help Britons’ manage their water use. Unfortunately it seems that people are still extremely misguided about how much water they use and waste daily, and hence aren’t taking the opportunities available to them to save water where they can. Our research shows that those living alone or with family are more conscious of their water use than those living in shared households, in all likelihood because they have more control over their household’s water usage and often pay the bills single-handedly. Bearing in mind people are living longer in shared housing because they can’t afford to buy, it is even more important that consumers are fully educated on water saving to prevent a long-term trend towards increased water waste.”

Showers - high water usage

The research reveals that that even one shower can be costly to consumers, and that water and money are wasted with over two thirds of people (39%) showering every day and one in five spending over 10 minutes in the shower. Various water saving campaigns have encouraged consumers to try and cut their shower time in half and install water saving devices such as thermostats. These help to avoid the necessity for running the shower before getting in and keep water usage and costs to a minimum. There are plenty of ‘hot spots’ where people can stop wasting water in the home and from the research we have been able to identify the key areas. Water waste ‘hot spots’ in the home:

Those who shower let the water run for an average 1 minute 18 seconds before getting in. Stepping straight in can save almost 10 litres of water
The average amount of time spent in the shower is 8 minutes. Cutting that time in half to four minutes would save around 30 litres of water depending on the shower being used
An old style single flush toilet can use up to 12 litres in one flush while new, more water-efficient dual-flush toilets use only six litres for a full flush and four litres with a reduced flush – saving 36-48 litres of water a day
A running tap wastes 5 litres of water a minute, so turning the tap off whilst brushing your teeth is a key water saving technique
Chose a shower over a bath. Even a shallow bath uses around 80 litres, while a short shower can use as little as a third of that amount

The BMA Scheme

The Bathroom Manufacturer Association’s (BMA) has a good water efficient labelling scheme. The BMA scheme is designed to help consumers identify which product is water efficient and give them the variety of choice and price ranges to suit every household’s needs. Products such as the water saving bath with a lower step-in height and installing a dual flush toilet are just small ways people can save money on their water bills long term, as well as helping the environment.

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How we use much more water than we think in Britain

The Key Statistics

Showers - high water usage

The BMA Scheme

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