Plans to help households across England use water more efficiently, part of an ambitious agenda to build back greener from the pandemic, have been announced by the Environment Secretary.

The proposals – announced in response to a public consultation on personal water usage – will balance the growing demand on national supplies with the ambitions in the our 25 Year Environment Plan to achieve clean and plentiful water. They are also key to the Government’s 2050 net zero target by reducing energy consumption in homes as heating water accounts for approximately 17% of an average household’s energy use.

As water supplies come under increasing pressure from climate change and population growth, these new commitments will also protect supplies for the future.

The proposals include:

• Introducing mandatory water efficiency labels for products such as dishwashers and showers will help people to make informed choices about how they can save water without having to make significant changes to their daily lives. This would be similar to the traffic light energy efficiency labels that already exist;
• Asking water companies to develop a consistent approach on fixing customer supply pipe leakage. Over the last 10 years around 25% of total leakage has been from customer supply pipes;
• Encouraging local authorities to adopt a tighter standard of 110 litres per person per day, compared with the current standard of 125 litres, for new homes where appropriate, requiring developers to install more efficient fixtures and fittings;
• Developing a roadmap towards greater water efficiency in new developments and through retrofits – including options such as rainwater harvesting; water re-use and storage options.

These measures, along with the work from water companies to reduce leakage by 50%, will help meet the ambitions set out in the National Framework for Water Resources to reduce average personal water consumption to 110 litres per person per day by 2050.

Read more.

However, there is concern that building standards for new homes to be as water efficient as possible will only be optional. Read more in Utility Week.