The importance of water saving could be underscored by research conducted at Newcastle University into the state of our seas almost two billion years ago.

At around 1.8 billion years into the past, water near the surface of the ocean was oxygenated, but at mid-levels high quantities of sulphides were present.

This contradicts conventional theory that links oxygenation of the deep ocean with the first known increase in environmental oxygen at that time.

Dr Simon Poulton, who led the research, says: "It took a second major rise in atmospheric oxygen, around 580 million years ago, to oxygenate the deep ocean."

This delay of more than a billion years could have held back evolution and slowed down the developments that were able to take place.

In modern terms, the Environment Agency works to prevent harmful chemicals from entering watercourses around the UK.

Part of this is achieved through water saving, by encouraging public water suppliers and businesses to abstract less from both surface and ground supplies of the fluid.