Waterwise launches revamp of UK water efficiency strategy

Waterwise, the leading authority on water efficiency in the UK, is launching a new consultation on the 5 year Water Efficiency Strategy for the UK which comes to an end in June 2022. Read the review of the 2017-2021 strategy.

An online consultation from the 26th July which will run for 6 weeks. CLICK here to access

The independent not-for-profit campaigning organisation is seeking views by 3rd September on the future of water efficiency in the UK.

The UK Water Efficiency Strategy (2017) was developed by Waterwise with collaborative input from a wide range of organisations including water companies, businesses, regulators and customer groups.

The purpose of the five year Strategy was to raise ambition and delivery on water efficiency in the UK. It included an ambitious Vision of ‘a UK in which all people, homes and businesses are water-efficient’ and has driven lots of positive change and impact. Waterwise said the strategy has been very successful in the last 4 years in driving ambition and action in the water efficiency world.

However, the 2017 Strategy had a five year life and inevitably during that time there have been new ideas, challenges and opportunities arising and many changes to the external political environment as well as national and global events.

Waterwise said:

“In the last 5 years we’ve seen increased recognition of the climate emergency and net zero; increased concern about the ecological emergency and the impacts of abstraction on chalk streams; rapid developments in technical areas such as smart metering; Brexit; and a global pandemic which resulted in a complete reconfiguration in how the water sector works and where, how and when we all use water.”

In summer 2022 Waterwise will launch The UK Water Efficiency Strategy 2.0. – a task and finish group of water companies and regulators from across the UK has been assembled to steer the rewrite.

Nicci Russell, Managing Director of Waterwise commented:

‘We’re really proud of how our first UK Water Efficiency Strategy has driven ambition over the last 4 years, and we hope the Strategy 2.0 will do the same. We encourage everyone to take part in the consultation and let us know what you’d like to see the future of water efficiency to look like. Waterwise is independent and so is the strategy, so we can be really ambitious. The first strategy was a fantastic team effort across the sector and we want this one to be too.’

The first phase of consultation which opens today will seek to collate thoughts on broad questions such as scope and timescale for the Strategy 2.0.

Waterwise will consult again for a second time when a draft of the strategy is ready for review.

The deadline for responses is 3rd September – click here to access the online form to submit your views.

Click here to download a review of the strategy to date.