Yesterday the Savvy Film Club successfully screened the mini-documentary ‘Explained: World’s Water Crisis’ This 18min documentary from Netflix has been shared to Youtube to allow the public to access educational resources during the pandemic. The film posed the question, how do we price our most valuable resource, while also ensuring access to it as a human right?
Around 50 people tuned in to watch the screening which resulted in a highly engaging post film discussion within the event page on Facebook. To lead the discussion, and be on hand to answer any questions relating to Scotland’s freshwater resource, was Rachel Elliott who is a Strategic Planner for water efficiency at Scottish Water.
Rachel explained that: “In Scotland, we are not experiencing drought like in South Africa and Mexico, but dry spells still occur and reservoir and groundwater levels can still drop. In these cases Scottish Water often need to divert or transport water from elsewhere in Scotland to meet demand. Islands can be more vulnerable because it is harder to connect them to a ‘back up’ source if you like. It is a challenge to promote the value of when it is often perceived as ‘free’, since water metering isn’t the norm in Scotland. But people can still save money on their energy bills by saving water and I think this link is often forgotten.”
Within the discussion many agreed that using rainwater collecting water butts for gardens and grey water for flushing could be a widespread local solution for Arran. It was suggested that including these along with other water conservation methods should be a statutory requirement for all new builds as the water crisis continues to impact more communities around the world while population expands exponentially. One attendee sent in this photo of their makeshift water butt where he switches the down pipe into the box when it rains: “Fills in minutes. Lasts me days.”
How exciting it would be if Arran was at the forefront of water conservation in Scotland! This film screening marks the start of‘ ‘Saving Water on Arran, Really?’ where Arran Eco Savvy working to support hou help householders on Arran to save water, energy, and money through water efficiency and conservation. This summer, we will be providing free water efficiency advice as well as free water saving devices to people who stay on Arran.
To find out how you can get your pack and enter prize draws including a monthly water butt competition, please visit: https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/savewaterarran
Get in touch with Energy and Water Advisor Charlotte for more info on how you can support and how you can get your Free water saving device pack depending on your appliances! Thanks again to everyone who tuned in to film club to hear about future films please join our mailing list here: Arran Eco Savvy sign up
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