Securing Water Supply for a Manufacturing Site Amid Emergencies
When a local water outage left a UK manufacturing site without water, the impact on operations was immediate and severe. The site’s Facilities Management team contacted their water supplier for emergency support but was informed that, as a business site, they were not a priority. With no site-specific emergency plan in place, the site had no guarantee of receiving an emergency supply. As a result, they went without fresh water for three days—potentially risking £20,000 in production losses per day and disrupting nearly 1,000 staff.
When a local water outage left a UK manufacturing site without water, the impact on operations was immediate and severe. The site’s Facilities Management team contacted their water supplier for emergency support but was informed that, as a business site, they were not a priority. With no site-specific emergency plan in place, the site had no guarantee of receiving an emergency supply. As a result, they went without fresh water for three days—potentially risking £20,000 in production losses per day and disrupting nearly 1,000 staff.
The Solution
Rapid Response with Water Direct
Faced with these challenges, the Facilities Management team turned to Water Direct. We quickly mobilised to provide emergency water supply and bottled water for the staff on-site. As a high-security facility, meeting stringent security protocols was essential. Our engineers worked within these requirements, delivering the first water tankers swiftly and ensuring a smooth operation. This timely intervention prevented further production delays and helped the site meet its targets, averting significant financial losses.
“My advice to other Facilities Managers would be not to underestimate your water supply; take it seriously because you can’t trust that it will always be there. Water is a vital resource that we can’t physically run our businesses without, so find out what your site needs, put contingencies in place, and test them on a regular basis.”
A Proactive Approach Pays Off
Three years later, the same site faced another challenge when water pressure unexpectedly dropped, cutting off supply. This time, with a site-specific emergency plan in place, the team called Water Direct and had emergency bottled water and a bowser delivered within two hours—an impossible turnaround without a pre-arranged plan.
The comprehensive site audit we conducted as part of their plan made all the difference. Our recommendations included installing multiple emergency tapping points for easy access and adding tanker-breech points to quickly replenish the site’s water storage. These proactive measures ensured that when the unexpected happened, the site could maintain operations with minimal disruption.
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