Students from the University of East Anglia (UEA) are being encouraged to urinate in the shower as part of a campaign to save water.

UEA students Debs Torr and Chris Dobson came up with the plan, called “Go with the Flow”, after being inspired by the success of Brazilian eco-group SOS Mata Atlântica, who encouraged people to urinate during their first shower of the day to save the 12 litres of water used each time a toilet is flushed.

Commenting on the campaign, Dobson said:

“We’ve done the maths, and this project stands to have a phenomenal impact. With 15,000 students at UEA, over a year we would save enough water to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool 26 times over. Imagine how big an impact it could have if we could get everyone in East Anglia, or even the UK, to change their morning habits! “The trouble is, most people don’t realise that we use fresh water much faster than it can be naturally replenished.”

At 600 millimetres a year, East Anglia has some of the lowest rainfall in the UK, and according to Anglian Water some areas have a lower annual rainfall than Jerusalem.

Reactions to the campaign have been mixed, but it has raised awareness about water wastage and started a debate on a resource that the pair argue “we largely take for granted”.

The two students are representing UEA in Npower’s national Future Leade’’s Challenge, which encourages students to come up with an environmental initiative on campus, with the winners offered a trip to the Amazon Rainforest to work with the Kaxinawá tribe.