EEA highlights measures to save water
A recent report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) highlights measures to promote sustainable water use. It says cost and lack of information is preventing many European households from using devises that could substantially reduce the amount of water they consume. 'Households account for most of the water consumption in urban areas, and between half and two-thirds of the water they use is for flushing toilets, bathing and showering,' reports the EEA. 'Using technologies such as reduced-volume toilet flushes and water-saving devices on taps can cut water consumption for these needs by around half.' But a lack of information about these technologies together with their relatively high cost means their use remains limited. The public needs to be given better explanations of the need to restrict water use and the technologies available to do so, concludes the EEA report. It suggests producers of water saving technologies could assist with this. Other methods to minimise waste of water include metering, which has been reported to lead to an immediate reduction in consumption of 10 to 25 per cent, and tracing and repairing leaks, from which water losses can be extremely high (it was reported to be 75 per cent in Albania, for example), although the EEA recognises this is expensive. The EEA report forms the second of a three-part assessment of sustainable use of water in Europe. It focuses on how management of water demand is approached across Europe as well as on measures to increase the efficiency of water use in the medium to long term.