Reducing Water Wastage in the UK

The final report of the Waterwise Evidence Base for Large-scale Water Efficiency in Homes has now been published and can be downloaded from the Publications section of our Research webpages here.

As part of Waterwise’s contribution to the Environment Minister's Water Saving Group, which concluded in November 2008, Waterwise collated and analysed several water company led water efficiency projects and produced an in-depth report that revealed the potential savings of and the various approaches to undertaking efficiency programmes. A number of scenarios for potential low-cost, high-yield, large-scale water efficiency programmes were developed.

The report shows that large-scale retrofit is possible and an economically viable option to meet future water needs alongside new resource development; however, it is clear that delivering large-scale programmes requires partnership working and that it is difficult for water companies to deliver these programmes alone.

Waterwise are currently exploring options for keeping the Evidence Base up-to-date, and for expanding and improving it. Comments on the report are welcome; please email Joanne Zygmunt.

Now in its second year, Future Friendly is a partnership between brands and leading experts to inspire people to live more sustainable lives through saving energy and water and reducing waste. Here at Waterwise we’d like to encourage award entries, which will provide local environmental heroes with a chance to win a bursary worth £20,000 to further their good work. Click here to see more information.

As part of our ongoing work in examining the links between water and energy, Waterwise will be releasing three new publications in February. The first will be a new version of our components of domestic demand table, which will now include estimates of the carbon, energy use and energy and water costs of water using activities in the home. We will also be publishing our report, Water and Energy Implications of Personal Washing Behaviors and Technologies, which reviews in detail current evidence on bath and shower use in the UK. This project was funded in part by the Energy Saving Trust. Lastly, Waterwise will be publishing a new report by Kathryn Rathouse Social Research, funded by the Pilkington Energy Efficiency Trust, which examines the public’s views about saving water in order to save energy, focusing particularly on showering. Keep an eye on our Publications page here.

A joint Water UK and Waterwise roundtable was held to identify issues around poor plumbing installations and practice on 7 January 2009. It was agreed the current situation needed to be made easier for consumers to understand. An over-arching 'brand' name for recognised businesses, employing competent trained plumbers, was proposed, similar to the now defunct 'Corgi' registration for gas installers. It was also agreed that the sale of 'non-approved' water fittings needed to be addressed by government. The proposals will be taken forward as a voluntary initiative by the parties who attended. Water UK and Waterwise will host a follow-up roundtable in six months.