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UK’s 4th busiest airport slashes water use by a third.

London Stansted Airport (LAE) has reduced its water consumption by nearly 33% in just 12 months, saving about 205m litres of water across its site.

The works form part of the airports on-going water strategy which saw it invest more than £ 500,000 last year to monitor, maintain and reduce leaks at the site. It achieved the saving in 2011 against a 2010 baseline and is planning on releasing its new five-year water strategy later this year. This is in line with a call from government for businesses to reduce water usage following a recent Environment (EA) report which revealed that the south east was in a drought.

An inspection of the water pipe network was conducted using hi-tech instruments which listen for any noise produced by leaking water, enabling the leak’s location to be found so repairs to replace and upgrade the defective pipework can be undertaken.

London Stansted Airport head of planning and sustainability Dr Andy Jefferson said “We are very aware the airport sits within one of the driest areas of the UK, so it’s vital we do all we can to help reduce water consumption and protect availability. Working alongside the Environment Agency and Veolia Central and with the help of our specialist contractors we have committed over £ 500,000 this year alone to continue monitoring, maintaining and improving our water network at the airport”.