Water scarcity has become a key global issue for the US because of its potential to fuel armed conflicts in regions such as the Middle East or between nuclear rivals such as India and Pakistan.

"Worldwide, water is not only a problem for billions of people who lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation," said Maria Otero, US under secretary for democracy and global affairs, during a visit to Brussels last week.

"It is also an issue of security as we see scarcity emerging more and water becoming potentially a source of conflict. There are more than 260 river basins around the world that are shared between countries. And that raises a security issue for everyone.

"We believe it is very important to help those countries develop agreements and develop ways to address the water that they share."

She said the US had backed the UN resolution, adopted in July this year, to make access to water a basic human right, saying that: "Every human being should have access to water and sanitation".

Quite right too!

A little closer to home, Chris Taylor-Hamlin, Technical Director of the Bathroom Manufacturers Association, (www.bathroom-association.org.uk) has been thinking a great deal lately about Water Efficiency being a driver for cost reduction in hotels.

And he says that recent announcements of impending energy price hikes (British Gas has today announced a 7% rise in both gas and electricity this winter, in case you've not seen the news yet) make the BMA's speech on 25th November on day two of the forthcoming Sleep Event (www.thesleepevent.com) more relevant than ever. 

Chris, speaking on 'Water efficiency in the Commercial Environment' at the Sleep Event Seminar, will develop the argument that water efficiency and energy efficiency are inextricably linked.  He will show how the BMA's 'water efficient product labelling scheme' is helping all businesses - and hotels in particular - reduce their water and energy consumption and hence utility costs. He will show how business managers can use the WEPLS on-line database to choose the most efficient bathroom products currently available.

"WEPLS has grown rapidly from a germ of an idea to a benchmark scheme which is now being copied in Europe and wider afield," he says. "Our database holds the details of around 1000 water efficient bathroom products which, by default, have the lowest carbon footprint. The scheme is recognised by several government departments and is a major aid for them in their drive to meet the Green Agenda."

Hotels are always looking for efficiencies and cost reduction. WEPLS is an increasingly important tool for proprietors and managers aiming to reduce their hot water consumption.