Don’t delay, make a water plan to be prepared today

What would happen if water stopped at your site and what would you do? Do your employees know what to do and would your business have to close for the day?

It’s worth thinking about as the unexpected can happen. Having a plan in place is the best way to be prepared.
 
Latest research by YouGov, which Water Plus commissioned to help organisations, has found just 11% of small and medium-sized businesses have plans in place to mitigate a water outage. Around 4 in 10 (39%) of those that employ under 250 people – also said they had a supply disruption in the 12 months leading up to the 2019 survey.

Keep your operation running by preparing for the unexpected

Here’s some key points to consider as a smaller business, when you’re making a plan for water loss at your site.

1. How much does your daily business operation rely on a mains water supply? Have you considered how a drop in pressure or loss of supply could affect your site?
2. How much water do you use each day and how much would you need in the event of a water issue? Where would you get water from if you needed it?
3. Do you use different amounts of water depending on the season or time of year?
4. Look out for any leaks at your site as these could affect your water supply. It’s worth doing this regularly. Check out our 4-steps leak test.
5. Find your stop taps and check your water meter regularly, if it’s safe to access, to spot any large unexpected increases. Buildings usually have an internal stop tap but there will also be an external stop tap on your site land as well. The external stop tap will be next to your water meter. Internal stop taps are normally located where the water supply pipe enters a property.
6. Know who to contact in an emergency - have the numbers ready so you can respond quickly. Make sure you, and your teams, know who you should be contacting. Check out our “no water” website page too.

Who to contact and when

If your water supply stops suddenly and nearby organisations are affected too, or if you have an issue with water quality, contact your water wholesaler for that area. They will be able to advise on any problems they’re aware of in the wider network near your site, as well as any actions they’re taking to fix them.
 
In the event of an interruption on a wholesaler’s network, supplying water to your site, businesses are not guaranteed a delivery of any additional water from wholesalers as hospitals, homes and schools would be prioritised. Wholesalers would provide information on any additional water if they can supply it.
 
It’s also worth keeping in mind that if you have a problem on your site - such as a leak - then it’s your responsibility to get it fixed.

What else to do and consider

If you’re interested in data loggers to track water consumption across multiple sites or multiple water meters, or you’re interested in using our leak detection and repair service or contingency planning service, please email advancedservices@water-plus.co.uk to see how we can help. 
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Find out more about how our Advanced Services team can help you and how you could save money on water use.

Remember, be prepared, have a plan in place and make sure you and your staff know what to do, so that you’re ready if the worst does happen. You’ll also be minimising any risks or loss of earnings too.


^{Statistics from a survey of 1,000 businesses across the UK’s private sector, including more than 600 SMEs, carried out by market research and data analytics firm YouGov for business water retailer Water Plus in Q3 2019.}