Science of supply and demand

Janice Warman talks to British entrepreneurs who are developing innovative solutions to address water shortages around the world and reduce water consumption at home

This summer Dr Stuart Downward, lecturer in geography and environmental science at Kingston University and a specialist in water resources, was in drought-hit Cyprus when a mobile desalination unit arrived on a boat and set up on the beach. It was a British company, Subsea Infrastructure, which supplies emergency desalination services wherever there is a water crisis, whether it’s Libya, South Africa, or as in this case, the Mediterranean.

The global desalination industry is expected to grow by 140 per cent by 2015, when spending on it should reach $56.4 billion. The world water market is worth £300 billion. And the arrival of that boat is indicative of the potential for British companies to benefit from the world water crisis.

The British householder drying out his sodden carpets after this summer’s flooding may be surprised to hear that he might one day suffer a shortage of water. Yet we each use 150 litres of water a day – the equivalent of a Peugeot 205 full of water delivered to your house each morning. Half of it is flushed away. One-third is used in showers and baths. That’s beside the water seeping into the ground from antiquated Victorian pipes. And if we include water that is ‘embedded’ in everything we consume – from food to cars – that rises to 3,400 litres per person.

So we need high-tech solutions to help us cut water consumption. There are no subsidies for water efficiency – no grants and no reduction of VAT – but still there are opportunities for British companies, like Twyford, which is producing low-flush toilets, using four litres instead of 15 per flush; and Kohler Mira, which is making aerated showers that insert a droplet of air into every one of water, reducing consumption by 70 per cent. (Both are now foreign owned; both manufacture in Britain).

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