Fitness training for firefighters blamed for brigade’s bill shock

Senior officers at South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, who are currently grappling with budget cuts running into millions of pounds, have installed the state-of-the-art systems at six stations.

But alarm bells started ringing earlier this year when figures showed that water consumption across the brigade had gone up by almost 50 per cent, leading to a budget overspend of 30 per cent.

The water problem comes just a few months after the service admitted its new £19m HQ in Sheffield was not as eco-friendly as hoped, and was using much more electricity than had been expected.

Yesterday brigade chiefs said it was hoped the rainwater harvesting systems would lead to savings in the long-term, but said the reason for the increase in water use was “not readily obvious”.

A spokesman for the service said a report was specially commissioned in a bid to discover why consumption had risen so rapidly, but said no single factor had been traced which was to blame.

The spokesman said: “There are two things which could have led to the increase in water use, which are linked to fitness training for firefighters and our very successful cycle to work scheme.

“Compulsory fitness training has been introduced for firefighters, in the last few months, meaning that they have to do at least an hours exercise in the gym or elsewhere during every shift.

“The inference is that if each firefighter in the service is doing that, then the number of showers they are taking increases and that would help explain some of the increase in consumption.

“We also have one of the most successful cycle to work schemes in the country with 300 people signed up. It is thought they are showering after they arrive at work as well, adding to usage.”

According to figures compiled by the brigade, water usage has increased from 12,067 cubic metres in 2008/09 to 17,749 cubic metres in 2010/11, an increase of 5,682 cubic metres or 47 per cent.

This has meant that water bills have increased by almost a third, leaving accountants at the service to find an extra £16,005 to meet bills while budgets are being cut.

At the worst affected site water use has gone up more than 750 per cent, with the station at Tankersley, near Barnsley, using 753 per cent more water in 2010/11 than two years before.

Other stations which have seen huge consumption increases include Barnsley, Rotherham, Royston and Adwick-le-Street, and there have been leaks which the brigade said could also be partly to blame.

The brigade said senior officers were “disappointed” that rainwater harvesting systems had not led to any saving in water bills, but said reduced rainfall in recent years had hampered operations.

The spokesman added: “In some ways it is disappointing that we have not reaped the benefit from the rainwater harvesting schemes, but although it may not feel like it, rainfall has reduced.

“The 1971 to 2000 average was 824mm per year. In 2009 there was 896mm but in 2010 that was down to 553mm and it should be noted that so far this year there has only been 265mm.

“What we would say is that, despite the increase, at least we are in a good position because we know about the increase and are working to sort it out.”

The brigade now plans to introduce an action plan in a bid to bring its bill back under control, with a new reminder issued to all staff to report faulty water systems as soon as possible.

Staff will also be instructed to read water meters weekly so that figures can be added to a database which the brigade said should indicate where problems are occurring.

It is also planned to reduce the capacity of water systems such as toilet cisterns to achieve further savings.