Water companies must increase water efficiency
December 1, 2008
Ofwat has announced targets for water companies to increase their water efficiency savings by 40 per cent from 2010. These targets, which will be introduced on a trial basis from April 2009 and will come into full effect in 2010, are to be achieved by providing business and domestic customers with information on using water more wisely.
The water efficiency targets come on top of additional savings expected from repairing pipes to stop leakage and increasing water metering.
The regulator is demanding that water companies help customers save at least 23 million litres of water a day, or an average saving of 1 litre per property per day. This would mean savings of 8395 million litres each year - an amount that could fill more than 3300 Olympic swimming pools every year. The targets will help companies play their part in achieving the Government's long-term ambition of reducing individual water usage to 130 litres per person per day from its current level of around 150 litres.
Ofwat will not allow customers' bills to rise in order to achieve these targets. Instead water companies must advise their household and business customers on how to use water sensibly and they must promote the use of water-saving devices, eg water-saving toilets and shower heads.
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