Photo description: Someone’s torso wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, spraying a hose. Photo by Delia Giandeini on Unsplash

The scale of the challenge 

A major new public engagement initiative, Let’s Save Water, has launched with backing from leading scientists, environmental bodies, and water industry figures, as new research reveals just one in 10 (11%) adults in England and Wales understand how much water they use. The £75m behaviour change campaign , being delivered by the 23red Collective, is attempting to respond to warnings of a projected daily water shortfall of five billion litres in England by 2055. In Wales, shifting weather patterns are expected to reduce water availability, particularly during summer months and periods of peak demand.

A significant perception gap 

A team of behavioural psychologists are advising the campaign, which aims to change attitudes to water use. 

New data from a YouGov survey of 3,121 adults across England and Wales reveals a substantial disconnect between perceived and actual water consumption. Respondents estimated personal daily use at approximately 30 litres, compared to an actual average of around 140 litres – nearly five times higher. Furthermore, over half of respondents (53%) believed water shortages to be short-term or weather-related phenomena, while approximately a third (34%) considered individual behaviour to have negligible national impact. 

Industry and government response 

Water Minister Emma Hardy confirmed that government support for nine new reservoirs is already underway, while Ofwat Chief Executive Chris Walters emphasised that infrastructure investment alone cannot deliver long-term resilience without a corresponding shift in public attitudes toward water as a finite resource. The Met Office’s Professor Lizzie Kendon highlighted a key counterintuitive factor: increased rainfall intensity does not necessarily translate into greater usable water, as hardened ground causes rapid surface run-off rather than soil absorption. 

The role of water companies in the campaign

A partnership involving water companies, the water regulator Ofwat, the Environment Agency, the Met Office and Natural Resources Wales is behind the campaign, which will be paid for by water companies over four years. 

The campaign has direct operational relevance. Demand management remains a central plank of Water Resource Management Plans, and closing the supply-demand gap will require measurable reductions in per capita consumption alongside new infrastructure. The campaign runs for four years, meaning its impact on household demand trends will be trackable against utility planning assumptions through the AMP8 period. 

Sector professionals should monitor whether the he Let’s Save Water initiative produces measurable shifts in per capita consumption data, which feeds directly into resource planning and regulatory assessments by Ofwat and the Environment Agency. Further details are available at letssavewater.com.