Lots of ifs and no water butts
April 30th 2008

“The issue of water and what we do with it is rising up the political agenda, both domestically and internationally,” claimed Water Minister Phil Woolas at the Waterwise conference held in Oxford on 8/9 April.Tim McManan-Smith reports from the event on the challenges facing businesses in reducing water use and what the Government, Environment Agency and Water regulator OFWAT are planning

It seems that water is now becoming more and more important as companies realise that water supplies are not plentiful and that the associated costs are not insignificant.At the Waterwise Annual Water Efficiency Conference a number of influential speakers set forth the coming agenda for water efficiency and security of supply.What follows is a brief round-up of what the Government, environmental and economic regulators had to say on these issues over the two days.

“We have to change the way we are doing things,” says Phil Woolas, Minister of State (Environment) with responsibility for water,“it is of extreme importance, with shifting demographics and climate change we must stop using it as an endless supply.”

Woolas believes that the Government has to create a situation where there is an incentive for water companies to sell less water. Although this may seem counterintuitive it is not unique in capitalism comments Woolas.

“A survey showed that 90% of people said that they use less than the average amount of water,” says Woolas.This is the problem, most people don’t know that they are being wasteful.“We have to introduce meters, there are 26m homes and thousands of businesses, the only debate is not if but when,” states Woolas. With regard to security of supply Woolas notes that,”it is not electorally or politically astute to tell the electorate that we’ve run out of water”.Much of this can be solved by looking at the way that we put water into drains.

Woolas thinks that we must use more systems that prevent rainwater flowing straight into the sewers and then being treated at great expense and effort such as water butts, rainwater harvesting, sustainable drainage systems and the like.

His other major point was that energy efficiency and climate change impact can in part be solved through better use of hot water. The biggest waste in a home is hot water that we don’t use.Savings through controlling this are more than through “loft insulation, energy efficient light bulbs or combi-boilers,”says Woolas,“hot water is 70% of the problem.We heat the tank and let it cool overnight multiplied by 26 million...why are schemes such as Warm Front (the Government-funded initiative to make homes warmer, healthier and more efficient) and the CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target) scheme, not using water efficiency in their campaigns? My job is to see these two agendas brought together...water must be part of the environmental agenda and it is my intention to do this before a reshuffle,”joked(!) Woolas.

The view of the environmental regulator

“Water is a finite resource,” states Barbara Young, chief executive, Environment Agency,“it is needed by people, businesses and the environment.Water efficiency gives the opportunity to deliver a variety of benefits providing a win, win, win across all three of these areas”. She believes that there is a ‘head of steam’ generated within the water efficiency sector as shown by successful conferences such as the Waterwise one.There have been agreements concerning water stress clarification, PR09 (the upcoming OFWAT price review) will take sustainability into account in a big way, the sustainable home strategy has a 105L/capita per day target rather than the current 140L per day, the building regulations has a 125L/capita per day target (including old homes), and leakage management is being addressed by the water companies and OFWAT.

DEFRA’s Future Water Strategy could have gone further on its personal usage levels suggests Young.“It is not as ambitious as it needs to be. Universal metering by 2035 doesn’t seem like much cop to me.We need to keep the pressure up there”.

Young went on to say that she “would like a summer that doesn’t flood.When you’re up to your knees in ice cold water, it is hard to convince people of the need for water efficiency”.

Like Woolas she reiterated the point that water efficiency would help in the fight against climate change.You would save on both water and energy bills.“I don’t know who these saddos are who spend all bloody day in the shower, they should get a life frankly,”comments Young. She praised the introsuction of water labelling by the BMA (bathroom manufactuers association).“It is vital that people are informed.We need to act now,we can’t wait for the EU, if we do we will wait for ever.”Young’s suggestion is that there be a committment to water efficiency in the same way that there is an energy efficiency comittment.“It could be a framework for water efficiency targets,working together and bringing water and energy together.The Government needs to lead to deliver the benefits of water efficiency to business,home owners and the environment to achieve the win, win, win.”

The view of the economic regualtor Regina Finn, chief executive,OFWAT says that in the area of water efficiency “lots of progress has been made...Consumers want a safe and reliable water supply, they want choice, not to be told only to spend two and a half minutes in the shower.They want reasonable prices and to protect the environment. It is about reducing waste not restricting choice – less waste means lower costs and it’s better for the environment,” comments Finn.

OFWAT says that what is happening with regard to this at the moment is the increase in metering. “Better informed customers make better choices,”says Finn. She agreed with Woolas that it is in a company’s interest to sell more water and that we must “remove incentives to sell more water to get more revenue” through a revenue correction mechanism which Finn believes should be introduced in PR14.

“We need consumer buy-in to achieve water efficiency improvements,” says Finn,“when there was a drought there was a good respoonse from consumers but the water industry must be credible to do this.”

The other area of water industry interest is competition in the water industry. Finn believes that “competition encourages innovation in a way that regulation can never do.New tariffs must be introduced that reward careful customers.” She thinks that the water companies should compete on service and not price.Water efficiency is a win for the consumer.

There needs to be better incentives for the consumer, informed choices and incentives for the water companies to do their bit. Competition will lead to better solutions all round,” concludes Finn.

It seems that water efficiency is gaining in importance and that the regulators and Government broadly agree that changes must be made.

Businesses can benefit more than the home owner through water efficiency because they are all metered.As well as cost savings there is also the need to ensure that in the future water supplies are there for all users.

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