Clean drinking water is essential for teachers, students and staff alike. Not to mention flushing toilets, running water for canteens, staff rooms, flushing loos, heating, cooling and water fountains.
With sustainability at the forefront of the nation's minds, many schools are engaging pupils in projects to reduce their carbon footprint which are both fun and educational.
We've created this page to give you some useful tips that will help you use water more efficiently, reduce your bills and protect your establishment, should you suffer a water outage.
Water hygiene
Water systems in schools, colleges and universities are unused for long periods of time – particularly over the summer break, which provides the perfect breeding ground for legionella and other bacteria.
Many school buildings, both public and private contain old, adapted water systems, creating long pipe-runs and dead-legs – again perfect for legionella bacteria to grow in stagnant water.
If you would like us to carry out a legionella risk assessment, please see below.
Legionella risk assessment
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 dictates that every business who has 5 employees or more should have an up-to-date risk assessment to protect their staff, customers and reputation. In the event of an outbreak, if you can’t provide proof of a risk assessment and legionella control, you will be legally responsible.
AquaCare, our in house water hygiene specialists, offer a wide range of services that ensure your business is compliant with the Health & Safety Executives' ACoP L8. They start by providing you with an up to date legionella risk assessment. This will outline any remedial actions required, as well as control measures that can be used, such as regular temperature monitoring and flushing of water outlets.
Flow monitoring
Firstly, we always recommend you install a water logger on your main pipework that goes into the school. This will allow you to build an accurate picture of your daily water consumption. Our portal creates a clear pattern of usage which you can view on any computer or mobile device. This cost-effective solution can prevent farms from wasting huge amounts of water and money by giving early visibility of potential leakage through its alarm functionality.
Leakage is usually easy to spot when the water pipes are above ground, but if you have a leak on your underground water network, it can run unnoticed for a considerable time.
If left to run, leaks can cost a substantial amount, running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Leaks are not always easy to locate, but we have experienced leak detection technicians who use computer aided techniques to help position the leak and we are equipped to handle any scale of repair.
Commercial heating
We offer a broad range of heating services. From simple boiler replacements, right through to complex commercial plant installations - we can do it all! We've broken down some of our more common services below:
Gas servicing
You need to keep all of your gas appliances regularly serviced so they are legal and safe for your
staff and customers. We service gas boilers and fires and carry out annual Landlord Gas Safety
Certificates.
Pump replacements
We can replace old heating pumps with more efficient and powerful ones.
Heating remedial work
We repair boiler faults, leaking radiators, burst pipes, defective radiator valves and replace old steel
pipes with new.
Plant rooms
We pride ourselves on refurbishing large commercial plant rooms. We remove old boilers and replace them with high performing, energy-efficient boilers which will reduce your heating bill as well as help
you with your green credential.
Emergency water
If you're unable to install either of the alternative water sources listed above, we can create an emergency water contingency plan with our contractors.
They're available 24/7, 365 days a year for all your emergency water supply needs, wherever and whenever you need it. They offer a range of services including same day and out of hours deliveries with water tankers, pallets of bottled water and deployment of bowsers or static tanks. If your site is water critical and can't operate without a water supply, our contingency planning offers peace of mind that we will always be on hand to make water deliveries when you need it.
Submit meter readings online
By submitting regular meter readings, you can be sure that bills accurately reflect actual water volumes and not estimates.
You should only try to access your meter if it is completely safe to do so. If you are in any doubt, do not attempt to access the meter, and contact us.
If it is safe for you to do so, read your meter, ensuring you only record the digits in black. Once this reading has been obtained, please click here to submit a meter reading.
Sign-up to Direct Debit
This convenient way of paying will give you peace of mind that your bills are being paid on time and avoid the hassle of being chased for late payment. It will also save time to process invoices and help your cash flow by splitting payments.
It’s secure and protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee and it’s easy to sign up – simply click here and fill out the short form.
