Collective action amongst Spa and Wellness Operators is needed in Climate Battle against Water Scarcity

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By Lucy Brialey - Sustainable Spa Association

The relationship between spas and water is a tale as old as time. A spa experience without water is almost impossible. Whether for steaming, cleaning, soaking, cooling, hydrotherapy, hydration, or anything else in-between, water is critical to the spa and wellness ecosystem.

When stripped back to the very basics, the word “spa” itself is derived from the Latin “sanus per aquam”, literally meaning “health through water.” With the link between spas and the natural world being greater than most other industries, it’s important, now more than ever, for spa operators to consider the importance of “health through water”, not just for it’s clients but the planet too.

The establishment of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) – ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all – highlights the importance of water and sanitation as fundamental to life on our planet, but this precious resource is increasingly in demand and under threat.

Water scarcity and drought are problems that are often associated with a dystopian future that many of us will only ever experience through dramatised television or movies. However, the reality of scarcity and interruptions to supply are already here, and many parts of the world are already feeling the effects.

It’s simply not feasible for spas to operate without water, so it’s crucial for operators to play their part in helping to save, preserve, and reuse the most precious of resources, setting the example for other industries, whether regulations or legislation mandates the industry to do so or not.

It would be hypocritical of us, as a collective, to utilise the best elements of the natural world while simultaneously doing damage to the very delicate ecosystem that benefits us every single day. We need water for our business, but we also have the luxury of being able to control our usage of it.

Realising The Value Of Water

For an issue so complex, reducing it down to its simple economic factors should be more than enough reason for the industry to re-evaluate. Simply put, the more water used, the higher the cost to the owner.

It’s basic but, for a larger operator that may require thousands of gallons to run their business, increasingly common price rises combined with the hike in prices as water becomes more scarce, could mean their once profitable facility could become sunk by the costs associated from running it.

If you consider the vast number of facilities that an operator could employ within their business –including pools, hot tubs, steam rooms, saunas, cold plunges, water bottles, showers, toilets, sinks, treatments, supply chain impact, food and beverages, water filtrations systems, ice machines, cleaning and sanitation systems – there is a wealth of opportunities for water to be mismanaged or lost, which could ultimately cost businesses a small fortune.

Changing Old Habits: The Easy Wins

As we’ve established, water is critical to everything a spa does. But water, or the lack thereof, shouldn’t stop businesses from innovating, testing, trialling and exploring avenues that can improve the space experience for consumers and members.

When we spoke to Julia Kleber of KPRN Aqua last year, she said: “Water hasn’t entered the consumer consciousness as much as electricity and some of the other renewables…We want to be able to visit a spa without worrying whether we’re using too much water. People sometimes have a longer shower or enjoy a bath on holiday because it’s not their water and they aren’t paying for it outright, but that has to come from somewhere.”

It’s that sentiment that operators need to act as gatekeepers, demonstrating knowledge, compassion and interest in improving the current climate issues which is crucial to influencing consumers too. Small, easy-to-implement wins are the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective routes to start making a difference when it comes to spa practices and procedures. Examples can include:

•Install Water Efficient Appliances: aerated, low-flow shower heads to reduce water consumption, recycling washing machines, motionactivated faucets, dual-flush toilets, not only save water, but improve the value of the space too. As high-volume usage areas, a few small interventions in these areas could save a large volume of water during the day-to-day running of the business.

•Leaks, Leaks & Leaks: Small but silent leaks amongst the wealth of spa operations within a business can be an expensive way to rack up a water bill, and waste TONNES of water before you realise. Keeping on top of pipe and equipment maintenance is an easy and effective way to reduce the likelihood of leaks and save those precious litres.

• Use Damp Towels for Treatments: opting for damp towels to remove a dissolvable scrub, rather than a post-treatment shower, also works well. These methods not only conserve water, but are great options for outdoor therapy sessions where water or plumbing may not be easily accessible, and in areas where saving water is of the utmost importance.

• Introduce Concentrated Products: Introduce products that are concentrated with powders and crystals and use your own water to activate them. This not only provides freshly activated ingredients, but also reduces the water footprint in shipping from the manufacturer to the distributor to you. • Only Use What You Need: Some operators that need water for treatments will allow staff to fill up from a central point and take only the amount they need for treatments to the treatment room. Reducing the need for a sink in every room and providing more regulation and conservatism to how much is wasted/used in daily operations.

• Remove Bottled Water – a lot of operators provide complimentary bottles of water to patrons. Why not do away with the contributing plastic and the need for bottled water with your own branded reusable bottles to encourage tap water refills.

For the sake of brevity and ensuring we take collective action as an industry, these easy wins are achievable for all spas, no matter the size or resource, to begin to make a difference. It’s the actions of the entire industry regardless of how small that will combine to have a positive and lasting impact on our environment.

Why not try and implement some of the easy wins this month in your business while you plan your longer-term sustainable water management strategy. If you want to go that one step further, you can integrate water conservation into your personal daily routine. Re-use the kitchen sink water for the garden, take a shorter shower, skip that bath, only use the dishwasher/washing machine on a full load and use a water can instead of a hose or sprinkler.

There’s really endless amounts you can do, at home or at work, to ensure that your water consumption is reduced in the short-to-medium term and, with repetition, it can become habitual in your routine.

What happens next?

There is always more that can be done. From water butts and water looping to alternative water sources and water quality, there’s a wealth of solutions to the on-going water crisis. In the coming months, we will continue to share the best industry practice and ideas for how you can plan, implement and improve your sustainable water management practices.

Over the coming months, we will continue to explore the topic of water stewardship across the Sustainable Spa Association platforms, highlighting the issue of water scarcity and promoting the importance and value of water conservation and recycling.

Not only that, but we will revisit the concept of water looping with Julia Kleber from KPRN Aqua, water recycling and reuse, sustainable water management solutions and discuss the positive and negative impact of chemicals within spa usage on the environment.