Coventry City Council are members of the ESPO (Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation) Framework and in April 2022, they switched 325 of their sites to Wave. This meant they could benefit from a high level of customer service and a retailer who would provide them with targeted and proactive data on their water consumption.
Becoming more sustainable
The council are committed to tackling climate change and have ambitious targets and strategies to deliver against. Once they switched to Wave, they immediately began to benefit from our High Consumption Alert emails (HCAs). These alerts help customers keep track of their water usage and mean increased consumption doesn’t go unnoticed. As sustainability is imperative to the council, their HCAs offer an easy way to keep an eye on their usage, spot leaks faster and minimise water wastage.
Tackling high consumption
In September 2022 the council received an e-mail from us highlighting high consumption at Holbrook Park, one of their sites. The council previously had very limited visibility of the site because it’s closed for most of the year and the meter was read only once a year. Each HCA includes a record of up to six previous meter reads and an estimate of how much extra water they’re using, so the council could clearly see that the significant rise in consumption wasn’t normal for this site, leading them to review the data and consider further action.
The council’s Energy Manager promptly followed up on the alert to find that the meter had recorded continuous flow of water for over a month at a rate of 4 litres per minute. The issue was then passed to the council’s repair team who identified a faulty fill mechanism on one of the boilers, meaning it was drawing and heating significantly more water than required. Once the problem had been discovered and fixed, the consumption returned to normal, resulting in significant savings and reduced water wastage. In addition, the council avoided the increased electricity charges that would have resulted from heating the water.
Saving water and cutting costs with HCAs
The proactive delivery of the HCA and prompt response from the council’s Energy Manager and repair team resulted in a significant saving of £6,219 a year. The fix also meant the council reduced their carbon footprint in line with their sustainability goals, preventing 8 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
Adam Yarnall, Energy Manager for Coventry City Council, said: “Really pleased with the automated High Consumption Alerts. As the contract progresses and consumption is better monitored and understood by both parties, I have no doubt more savings will be achieved.”
Joel Anderson, Wave Account Manager, said: "It's great to see our HCA’s once again deliver a fantastic outcome and saving for our customer. The automated alerts provide a great early warning indicator and opportunity for action to prevent unnecessary wastage. The authority following up on this alert so promptly has ensured a great result and significant cost and carbon avoidance. I am looking forward to continuing to work with Coventry City Council to deliver further savings from these alerts."
Our range of Water Efficiency Services are designed to help you save water, money and the environment. Get in touch if your organisation is looking to become more sustainable.
