New water recycling scheme
About one million litres of water will soon be saved by Southern Water on the Island every day.
The County Press says this is enough to fill 10,000 baths.
A £7 million investment in new state-of-the-art recycling equipment, which takes water out of sludge, will improve supplies in the south of the Island.
The project at the Sandown works is part of £700 million of environmental improvements being carried out for Southern Water throughout Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Island between 2005 and 2010.
The water company said its new equipment, which is nearing completion, will take 90 per cent of the water from a thin sludge that previously went to waste.
new machinery
The new machinery takes water used in backwashing the normal filters, slows it down and adds clarifying chemicals that bind together the solids in the sludge so that it falls out of the flow. This clarified water can then be sent back to the beginning of the filtration process and can end up as clean water.
Southern Water section leader Des Eastman said: “This is a cost-effective and eco-friendly way of putting good quality water back into the system. As an island, water resources need to be managed very carefully on the Isle of Wight. Investing in schemes such as this is vital to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our customers and the thousands of visitors to the island every year.”
meter successes
The Isle of Wight provided evidence that metering does lead to more prudent consumption over the long term. The National Water Metering Trials, which ran from April 1989 to March 1993 on the Island, recorded an average reduction in domestic consumption of 11%, with peak period reductions of up to 30%. (Southern Water Services (December 1997) Water Consumption on the Isle of Wight 1988 - 1997)
We use an average of nearly 55,000 litres of tap water a year for drinking and washing - enough to fill a private swimming pool. If we had to use bottled mineral water at roughly 36p a litre instead, that would cost us each £19,800 a year.
drought trends
Exactly how frequent droughts are in the UK is difficult to define. 1976 was definitely a drought, and so were the mid 80’s. The mid 90’s was argued over - it was a drought according to some and not to others. The trend since the 1860’s is for wetter winter and drier summers, and this has increased since the 70’s. This seasonal cycle is strongest in the south and east of the country and if this trend continues then we can certainly expect more droughts in the future.
hosepipe bans
During the next drought water companies will be able to ban most uses of domestic hosepipes. Inconsistencies of the hosepipe ban where highlighted during the 2005-2006 drought. After consulting, Defra announced in October 2007 that the legislation would be changed and allow water companies greater discretion over what they ban.
On average, the Environment Agency says, garden watering is about 5% of household water use over a year. But this is concentrated in summer months, when water is most scarce. A hosepipe ban can save significant amounts of water - evenings and weekends water demand can double or even treble the daily average as people water their gardens.
Interestingly, on the Isle of Wight where 90% of households are metered, hosepipe bans are introduced more rarely, and if necessary, later in teh year.
bathwater re-use
Save yourself money and reduce water wastage by fitting a simple but ingenious device to divert your used water from the shower/bath to your garden. This simple device is controlled from ground level by pull cords. Easily fitted to existing pipework, you can use pre-heated water to warm your greenhouse in early spring - saving parafin or electric too! Read more…
water butts
Now is the time to buy a water butt and rainwater diverter kit. You can use this water from watering plants, washing cars, flushing toilets - for free!
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