Council tenants save money and 90,000 litres of water every day

Water saving devices fitted to council homes are estimated to be saving tenants an average of £300 per year on their bills – and helping Crawley Borough Council build new homes.

More than 1,350 households are now benefitting from this device and are saving a combined 90,000 litres of water a day, thanks to Control Flow. This is a device that regulates the flow of water and stabilises the water pressure, giving improved water efficiency that also results in water being heated more efficiently.

Since summer 2022 they’ve saved enough water to fill the Olympic-sized swimming pool at K2 Crawley four times!

The council is working in partnership with Cenergist to roll out a programme to improve the water efficiency of its existing housing stock across the town, with occupants benefiting from reduced water and energy consumption.
 
Crawley Borough Council has reviewed its kitchen and bathroom specifications to achieve savings and is looking at ways to incorporate rainwater harvesting systems into domestic and commercial properties.

The council has pioneered this strategy in response to Natural England’s decision in 2021 to change local planning requirements so that any future housing development must be built as water neutral.

The supply of water to the Sussex North Water Resource Zone was found to be causing environmental strain to a number of ‘Special Areas of Conservation’ and ‘Sites of Special Scientific Interest’ within Arun Valley. This is putting certain species of birds, snails and habitats at serious risk.

The retrofitting programme has made good progress and has provided sufficient water savings to unlock some important new developments in the borough with water neutrality having been achieved. The first two schemes to have been supported will result in the construction of a total of 206 affordable dwellings in Bewbush and Southgate.