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World Water Day happens once every year to celebrate water and raise awareness of the people across the globe without access to clean water. The day has been held on the 22nd March every year since 1993 and this year it is all about how water can help fight climate change.

In the UK the average person uses 150 litres of water every single day. We are no doubt more conscious of turning on the taps due to COVID-19, so it seems a great time to reflect on how we can make a positive difference in other areas, whilst spending more time at home.

Using water more efficiently will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and as an environmental company, our carbon footprint is extremely important to us. So, we have decided to take a look at how we can all do our bit to protect our planet.

Here are Ebsfords top 10 tips to help reduce your water waste.

1. Brews for everyone

When making a brew at work, to save energy and water, do your good deed of the day and make one for your colleagues too! Or if you’re at home, only boil what you need, it will save time, electricity, money and most importantly water.

2. Make it rain

Don’t let that rainwater to go waste. An easy way to do this is to install a garden water butt. It can save up to 5,000 litres of water every year! You can use the water for rinsing vegetables, car washing or simply giving the garden a good ‘old watering.

3. Shut the tap off

Yes we must keep following good hygiene practice and regularly wash hands to fight the spread of disease, but generally we are all culprits of it. Leaving the tap on whilst we’re brushing our teeth or washing our face. But simply turning it off in between could save up to 6 litres of water per minute.

4. Early Bird or Night Owl

Did you know you should only water your garden either at the very start of the day or the very end? It will stop the water evaporating in sunlight. It is also worth using a watering can instead of a hose pipe, it could save as much as 1,000 litres of water an hour.

5. Don’t be a dawdler

Cutting an 8-minute shower in half could save you over 30 litres of water and that’s per shower. Set your phone timer to make sure you don’t cheat!

6. Fill ‘er up!

Fill your Dishwasher/ Washing machine to the brim, it will not only save you work but save on water too. Also make sure you use the most efficient energy setting; you won’t know the difference!

7. Don’t be a drip

That dripping tap could be causing a bigger impact than you think, wasting up to 5500 litres of water every year! So, make sure your taps are fully turned off or change the washers as soon as it starts to drip.

8. Recycle your water

Rather than let it go down the plughole, catch wastewater in a washing up bowl and use it to water your garden, it’s too good to go down the drain.

9. Put the fridge to use

Think of all those times you run the cold water tap each time you want an ice-cold drink, why not keep a bottle full in the fridge? It’ll be super chilled and refreshing.

10. Power to the shower

We all enjoy the luxury of a nice long bath but take a shower when you can, it can cut the amount of water used in half.

When it comes to water consumption, are we taking our endless supply of water for granted? We all have a role to play when it comes to tackling the global water crises and following these top tips could make a bigger impact than you’d think.

As brits we are used to the less than perfect weather conditions and unsurprisingly it is a hot topic of conversation, in fact according to an article in ‘the Sun’ we spend more than 6 months of our life talking about it. This year, we have already had storm Dennis and Ciara within 7 days of each other, with winds up to 97mph. We also expect Storm Ellen and Francis to follow shortly.

So how is the weather causing the species to spread so quickly? Japanese knotweed is often spread when pieces of the rhizome separate from its parent plant and are swept away, they thrive in new locations and often take over at high speed. The species tends to inhibit banksides of rivers and so when flooding occurs and river levels rise, the rhizome is easily broken away and carried to a new location.

Preventing the spread of Japanese knotweed is understandably difficult, particularly when the weather is not on our side. Rivers should be monitored when flooding occurs but there really isn’t a whole lot that can be done to prevent Japanese knotweed ending up on your property, if it’s being carried from a watercourse.

The invasion of Japanese knotweed has been a nuisance for people across many industries for years. All we really can do is take responsibility for the invasive species on our land and educate others on how to do the same. But in the meantime, how great would it be if this weather gave us all a break and stopped making things worse. Not to mention making a day out on site that bit more appealing.

If you want to learn more about how you can help fight the spread of Japanese knotweed, Ebsford are offering a CPD seminar aimed at helping navigate the eradication process. For more information feel free to contact us directly on 01924 802 190.