Low water consumption
A societal trend to save water
Today, the average water consumption in Denmark is 105 litres per day per person. However, we used to consume a lot more and thus consumption has dropped by 50 % since 1976 (vandetsvej.dk). It has become a societal trend to save water.
What has led to a low water consumption?
People have great consciousness around water as a scarce resource. Several initiatives have positively impacted this drop:
• Tariffs - People’s behavior can only be affected if water has a price. In Aarhus the tariffs reflect the full cost recovery of water. And this gives an incentive for people to save water.
• Environmental understanding - Several campaigns to save water has created an awareness of water as a scarce resource.
• Education – It has been a goal in Aarhus for every child during their elementary education to visit a water works to impact their behavior in relation to saving water eg. to turn off water when brushing their teeth.
• Innovation – water saving installations such as ½ toilet flush, dish washers using less water are also innovations that have contributed positively.
Proactive leak detection and only 5% water loss
A technical customer service is also an important element of reducing water loss. They give advice to our customers if they experience problems with a leak.
An infrastructure suiting a low demand
A databased asset management system assists us in deciding where to replace pipes. Thereby, we prioritize our budget where it is most beneficial.
At the same time, we can make prognosis for future construction projects taking this low consumption into account meaning that investments are perhaps not quite as heavy as they would be if water loss and consumption were at a larger scale.