Waterwise today hailed an independent report as an important step toward valuing water, in the face of climate change.

Waterwise today hailed the independent Walker report as an important step towards us all genuinely valuing water, in the face of climate change. The report sets out a series of very welcome, strategic steps to help make the economy climate-resilient – including an important role for water efficiency, and a fairer way to pay for our water.

In particular, Waterwise welcomes the recommendations on:

• Reflecting the full value of water in the water sector – so that, in the future, the price we all pay for water, including the water industry, takes account of environment and social costs, as well as economic

• Including water efficiency in national energy efficiency schemes – so that we don’t miss a trick, and ensure that all homes waste less water as well as wasting less energy, as we move towards zero carbon homes and water stress

(Waterwise would have liked to have seen retained the recommendation of a national scheme for water efficiency to help households with low incomes pay less for their water. We agree with the report that the water companies should look at the potential for targeted schemes of this kind.)

• A government commitment to 80% metering for all homes in England by 2020 (and 65% in Wales) and a change in the law to require water companies to meter where this is cost-effective, taking into account the full value of water – to make sure that we move as quickly as possible to what is generally agreed is the fairest way to pay for water: according to how much we use

• Changes to the regulatory framework – to help mainstream water efficiency, and make it pay for itself

• A review of water efficiency labelling-schemes – to give us the information we need to buy water-efficient fittings for our homes

• A national strategy to influence public behaviour on water use, including both the public and private sectors – to help people waste less water

Nicci Russell, Waterwise’s Policy Director, said
‘This report sets out a series of important steps which the UK needs to take to ensure that we waste less water. In the UK we are already suffering the impacts of climate change – not just through devastating floods but also through widespread recent droughts. We know that in the future there will be even more people in the UK, and less water to go round, so we will need to waste less water, through water efficiency. Water efficiency also has an important role to play in tackling climate change, and not just in adapting to it – 5% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions come from heating water in our homes for cooking, bathing and cleaning, so measures such as taking shorter showers save both water and energy, and cut bills.’

'Anna Walker’s report recognises the importance of these issues, and recommends well-thought-through, strategic measures to help make the UK economy climate-resilient and to help make the way in which we pay for our water use, fairer. We look forward to the government and the other political parties taking these proposals and running with them, including in their manifestoes for the upcoming general election.’

The Walker Review makes clear the arguments both for water efficiency in its own right, as we have less water to go round, and because of its links with energy efficiency. Waterwise very much welcomes the links the report makes between water and energy efficiency in terms of both regulatory incentives and campaigns to influence behaviour change. However, because people behave differently with water than with energy – for example, two identical households would be expected to behave similarly with energy, but may have wildly different levels of water consumption – there is also in some cases a need to take forward water efficiency campaigns in their own right.

Nicci Russell, Waterwise’s Policy Director, said
‘The Walker Report is a call to arms for the way we use and pay for water to catch up with climate change. Waterwise welcomes it in that context, and looks forward to it being taken forward through political leadership.’

Notes to Editors
Waterwise is an independent, not for profit, non-governmental organisation focused on decreasing water consumption in the UK, and building the evidence base for large scale water efficiency. We are the leading authority on water efficiency in the UK. We sat on the UK Environment Minister’s Water Saving Group alongside the water industry and regulators. Our aim is to reverse the upward trend in how much water we all use at home and at work. For more information please visit www.waterwise.org.uk


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Waterwise
Chris Philpot
Communications Manager
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