SES Water has created a water efficiency campaign to de-bunk commonly held misconceptions around water resources, supply and consumption.
The “Battling the water myths” campaign features ancient Greek and Roman-themed mythological imagery and characters alongside the impact a myth can have at an individual, local or global level and includes facts to counter the falsehood.
SES’ region is part of the driest in the country but per capita consumption (PCC) is above average so the company wanted to highlight to consumers how effective lifestyle changes could be to both water and energy bills.
It debunks ideas that handwashing uses less water than a dishwasher, how usage affects the local environment and how the water cycle works.
Water strategy manager at SES, Alison Murphy, said: “The south east of England is officially classed as water-stressed and with climate change making droughts more likely, we need to be aware of the impact our water use habits are having on local rivers and the wildlife they support, including globally rare chalk streams.”
Last month the Environment Agency launched a consultation to add a further seven regions to the list of water stressed parts of the England and Wales, which are currently all in the south and east.
Companies in these regions must produce water resource management plans (WRMPs) and evaluate introducing compulsory metering to reduce demand.
“We hope this campaign will show that by simply making small, achievable water savings every day, we can all help make a real difference to the impact on our local water resources, the environment we live in, as well as help save money,” Murphy said.
Nicci Russell, managing director of Waterwise, said: “Myth busting is so important, so we can all realise how hard it is to make the water we have go round, and how easy it is to use it carefully – we all need to remember that this is an issue right here, right now.”
SES made significant reductions to PCC during AMP6 and was one of only three companies to meet its 2018/19 reduction targets.
The campaign will run online and across social media channels as well as on customer bills with a competition to win household appliances.