Water Saving Week

By Michelle Charlesworth

Here at Aspire, we're committed to following the Bioregional One Planet Living framework - and water efficiency plays a critical part in the framework's Sustainable Water principle.

17th-21st May 2021 marks Water Saving Week, an online event raising awareness and sharing tips around how to use - and waste - less water in our daily lives, under the guidance of the not-for-profit Waterwise.

This Water Saving Week features a variety of themes to get us thinking about how we can reduce water consumption in our homes, businesses and communities - and subsequently reduce pressure on our water supplies and protect the environment, in the face of long periods of dry weather caused by climate change.

Both individually and collectively, we need to recognise the importance of water, and drive home how easy it can be to make a small, but significant, change!

• Monday: Talk to your community about saving water
• Tuesday: Talk to your water company about saving water
• Wednesday: Talk to your plumber about saving water
• Thursday: Talk to your colleagues about saving water
• Friday: Talk to your customers about saving water

Another way to get involved...

Just 14% of England's rivers are classed as ecologically healthy, with sewage pollution serving as one of the major contributors to this. Here in Oxfordshire, the new campaign group Oxford River Projects will be delivering a ground-breaking, citizen science-led water quality monitoring project, with volunteers collecting water samples for bacteria and pollutant analysis, to provide much-needed data on the impact of sewage and river pollution.

If you want to support Oxford River Project's vision of a clean and healthy River Thames fit to swim, paddle and play in, teeming with freshwater wildlife - join a river clean!