Livingstone and Thames Water to run wastage ads

Hot on the heels of a joint awareness campaign between various water companies and the Environment Agency (MW last week), the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone is launching a joint campaign with Thames Water that aims to encourage Londoners to save water.

The Mayor, a proponent of water conservation, is calling on Londoners to be aware of how they use water – and that small changes can have a big impact.

The campaign will feature radio and newspaper ads highlighting the volume of water wasted in the home and in the garden. The ads convey the message of how much water consumers use by comparing the number of bottles needed for each task.

The campaign launches as water supply and conservation dominate headlines and the South-east faces a drought. It is also in the same month that Thames Water and Three Valleys Water issued hosepipe bans.

Thames Water has been criticised for failing to act on leaks. Conscious of this, Thames Water chief executive Jeremy Pelczer says: “We are acutely aware of the need to reduce leakage and are investing &£500,000 every day to bring levels down, but we also need customers’ help to conserve precious supplies.”

Launching the campaign on Monday, the Mayor said: “This campaign is all about encouraging as many Londoners as possible to make small changes to their lifestyles to save water.”