WEYBRIDGE, Surrey, February 25 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

- Findings Reveal Excessive Water Wastage in British Homes - Be Water Wise With Ariel

An overwhelming majority of the British public fail to recognise water saving as a pressing environmental issue, according to a new report released today by Ariel laundry detergent and Waterwise - the UK's leading authority on water efficiency. The report has prompted the launch of the nationwide 'Be Water Wise with Ariel' campaign, fronted by property designer Wayne Hemingway MBE and welcomed by Minister for the Environment, Phil Woolas(1), to rally the nation to help protect one of its most precious resources.

Britain has less available water per head than many other European countries, yet a nationwide survey revealed that when given a choice of five of the main environmental issues facing the country, water shortages were not seen as a priority in almost 80% of cases(2). While many Britons have already taken steps to live more sustainable lives by recycling and doing their bit to save energy, experts believe periodic prolonged rainfall and floods have led to misunderstandings around the need to save water.

Jacob Tompkins, Director, Waterwise, said: 'The past two years has seen the worst droughts and floods for a century in parts of the UK. Although these events give different messages to the public about available water supply and the need to be water efficient, both lead to restrictions on public water supply. Climate change means that we will see even more extreme weather in the future. Already, the South East of England has less available water per person than Sudan and Syria.'

'Our increasing population is part of the issue - it is predicted that by 2027 water stress will be a serious problem worldwide and the average supply of water is expected to drop by at least a third. It's imperative that we all work together now to implement simple changes that will ultimately make a significant impact on the well being of our planet,' he added.

Key Findings

- Consumers underestimate the amount of water they use: Three in ten households think they use around 50 litres per day, per household, but the reality is a colossal 150 litres of water per head, is used every day(3).

- Londoners showed the highest percentage of those placing water shortages in their top two environmental concerns. Yet they reported the least amount of water efficient toilets, showers and washing machines in their homes. They also flush the most non sewage waste down the toilet.

- One in four of us are still using the pre-wash setting on our washing machines - wasting more than 6 billion litres per year. If everyone stopped pre-washing we could save enough water to fill more than 6000 Olympic sized swimming pools(4).

- Half of us do not wash full loads. Yet if we added 2 extra garments to our loads collectively we would save 608 million litres in just one week(5).

- One in four people in Great Britain do not turn off the tap while brushing their teeth, wasting six litres every minute - in total, wasting 446 million litres a day(6).

- One in six people admitted to flushing waste such as cotton wool balls down the toilet at least once a week - each flush, on average, uses 7.5 litres of water - collectively wasting 27 million litres per week(7).

Wayne Hemingway said: "The statistics sound worrying but in truth there are many small things we can all do around the home to make a difference. 50 per cent of the country's water consumption is down to household use so it's an important place to start taking action. To put this into context, if we saved the water UK households waste in a week it would be enough to supply over 6 million UK families for one week(8). The key thing to remember is that this initiative is not about restricting use - it's about being water wise and reducing waste."

Phil Woolas, Minister for the Environment said: "We all know that climate change is happening, but many of us don't connect it with the need to waste less water. Making a few simple changes to some of our everyday habits can cut down the amount of water we use. There is an increasing role for new technology and new products to help us go further. It's excellent to see this sort of initiative."

Ariel and Waterwise are working in partnership to inspire and enable British households to take action to conserve precious water without compromising their lifestyle. For water saving tips and advice visit http://www.ariel.co.uk/water

WEYBRIDGE, Surrey, February 25 /PRNewswire/ --

(1) Earlier this month Defra published `Future Water', the Government's water strategy for England. This document stresses the need for public campaigns to promote water efficiency: (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/strategy/index.htm)

(2) Data based on a survey by Ipsos MORI among a representative sample of 1,002 water consumers in Great Britain, interviewed by telephone between 14 December 2007 and 6 January, 2008.

(3) Underestimate of usage based on Ipsos MORI research. Average usage based on Waterwise research.

(4) Washing machine penetration based on Ipsos MORI survey results. Frequency of consumers pre-washing and pre-wash cycle water consumption provided by Procter & Gamble. Household numbers based on National Census 2001 values.

(5) Data for fully filling washing machines: Ipsos MORI research. Water savings data: Procter & Gamble 2008

(6) Based on a person brushing their teeth twice a day for three minutes per time

(7) Calculated from Waterwise figures assuming average flush of 7.5 litres, repeated once weekly per household for one year

(8) Average household consumption based on OFWAT 2000 figures. Household numbers based on National Census 2001 values. 25% of consumption wasted per house estimated by Waterwise.

Note to Editors:

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For further press information including top tips to saving water, fact sheet and images please contact: Zaza Biddu / Sarah Trombetta, Hill & Knowlton, M: +44(0)7801-069-810 (Zaza Biddu), T : +44(0)20-7413-3206 / +44(0)20-7413-3033, E: firstname.surname@hillandknowlton.com