Reducing Water Wastage in the UK

Waterwise is presently carrying out several research projects, both internally and as part of our consultancy work. Please contact us with any questions.

• Building the economic case for water efficiency from UK data
There are some excellent examples of water efficiency projects which have been carried out by the UK water industry and local councils in recent years – many projects are still continuing and many more are in the development phase. Our research aims to gather together the details of these projects to determine long run marginal costs of water efficiency and to assess the longevity of water efficiency measures.

• Building the case for water efficiency from international data
Many countries around the world have carried out and are still carrying out demand management, water conservation, and water efficiency projects. Our research looks at these projects in depth, and we aim to produce in cooperation with Ofwat a series of case studies which we believe to be transferable to the UK.

• Water efficiency retrofit projects in the UK
We are presently leading on or are otherwise involved in over 17 major water efficiency retrofit projects occurring all over the UK. For more information on these projects please visit Water Efficiency Projects.

• Water-using products assessment and rankings
By making small behavioural changes and choosing more water efficient products, we can all easily save significant amounts of water. Presently, however, there is no place where consumers can turn to for information on water using products. Therefore, Waterwise has ranked all new UK dishwashers and washing machines according to water efficiency. We are currently developing a methodology to rank taps, toilets, and showers. We aim to complete this work by autumn. We are also looking into how these rankings fit with the Code for Sustainable Homes and other product lists such as the Water Technologies List.

• International levels of metering
Waterwise are currently carrying out a brief project for the Greater London Authority on metering implementation and current penetration in some major cities around the world. We will also be looking at submetering penetration and smart metering pilots.

• Labelling schemes for water-using products
Through the Market Transformation Programme, we are currently carrying out an in-depth study for Defra on labelling schemes for water-using products in nations around the world including the USA, Australia, China, Israel, Ireland, and Singapore.

• Embedded water
In February 2007 we issued our first briefing on embedded water, titled Hidden Waters. This briefing was an introduction to embedded water, water footprints, and related issues. We are continuously building our knowledge of these issues and are also establishing relationships with other bodies that are doing similar work. Waterwise will be moving forward with research on embedded water.

• The energy consumption of and greenhouse gas emissions from water consumption, both domestic and also supply and treatment

• Metering and demand management

• Water pricing and tariffs

• Water bill structures

• The sociology, anthropology, and psychology of water use

• Water and business risk

• Other projects

Waterwise are often involved in research being conducted by government bodies, the water industry, non-governmental groups, and/or consultancy organisations.

Our role in these projects differs: sometimes we sit on the project steering group, other times we simply provide advice and guidance to researchers, and often we comment on draft reports.

Waterwise welcomes undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students to work with us on specific projects. For more information please visit the careers section.

We welcome any information related to demand management, water conservation, and/or water efficiency which people kindly provide to us.

We are particularly interested in international experiences, retrofit projects, and in water bill samples. If you have a report, educational pamphlet, water bill, or any other information which you think would be of interest to us, please contact us.

Thanks in advance for helping us help others use water wisely!