Saving for a sunny day – why water efficiency is key

In business and at home, we often talk about saving for a ‘rainy day’. Environmental not-for-profit organisation, Waterwise, is calling on businesses to also start saving water for a ‘sunny day’ – whatever the weather has in store for us this summer.

Photograph: iStock/liulolo

Jo Osborn, deputy head of policy and public affairs at Waterwise, explains: “Water security is a huge issue right across the UK and not just an issue for a long time in the future. Water efficiency is a key part of the solution, making the water we have go further, and reducing water and energy bills and carbon, as well as leaving more water in the environment to sustain our beautiful rivers and lakes, as well as economic and housing growth.”

Jo Osborn is deputy head of policy and public affairs at Waterwise. Photograph: Waterwise

Waterwise is making an impact in this area by convening a huge network of stakeholders across the UK who are leading the way in raising water efficiency up the agenda, both for policy and regulation and through communications, campaigns and research.

Osborn continues: “Last summer, there were parts of the UK where businesses had to shut down as high demand outstripped the ability for the water company to pump water into the network. Two summers ago, the drought across the country led to us getting close to seeing non-essential use bans introduced – this would have required businesses to stop using water for some activities. These are recent times, so it’s important we act now to be prepared for future challenges. That’s where the UK Water Efficiency Strategy to 2030 can help.”

Getting strategic about water efficiency

In 2022, Waterwise published a UK Water Efficiency Strategy to 2030, which it created with around 100 organisations, and it has an ecosystem of groups and activity to deliver it. The strategy has a vision of a “UK in which all people, homes and organisations are water-efficient”. There are 10 objectives to support realising the vision, and most need businesses to play an important part.

Osborn says: “The strategy has a particular focus on the need for a more diverse range of voices to help drive, develop and deliver even more action. The business community has a huge part to play in this and partnership working is key. We are really proud of the growing community of organisations we are seeing stepping up and leading on water efficiency – we’d love to see even more join us this summer.”

Photograph: iStock/naumoid

One of the key voices when it comes to business water efficiency is MOSL, the business water market operator. We spoke to Liz D’Arcy, head of data insights and analytics, to find out more.

Why is there a need for action?

“Without action, the UK is forecast to have a water deficit of 4.8 billion litres each day by 2050. While there is a pressing need to increase the amount of water put into supply, a big part of the solution is about reducing demand,” says D’Arcy.

“Businesses consume 30 per cent of public water and so have a key part to play. Defra has set water companies targets to reduce business demand by nine per cent by 2038 and 15 per cent by 2050 but they can’t do this alone. It needs to be a joint effort with customers.

“MOSL has oversight of the market data that enables us to shine a spotlight on when, where, why and how businesses use water. This view will improve further as more smart water meters are deployed.”

Why should businesses care about water security?

“We’re used to living in a country with plenty of available water, but this won’t be the case into the future without action to reduce demand. This is because of our changing climate and growing population.

“Because it is relatively cheap compared to energy, it is increasingly clear the value of water to businesses is not having water. By this I mean the economic impact of having to close if you don’t have water to wash hands, flush toilets, prepare food etc. Businesses therefore need to consider the cost of closure and ensure water is incorporated into wider business continuity planning, along with other utility interruptions.

Liz D'Arcy is head of data insights and analytics at MOSL. Photograph: MOSL

“While businesses are under increased cost pressures, when choosing a retailer it’s worth considering additional services offered by retailers, like those that enable good water management on site and contingency measures if mains supplies are not available. There is also increasing focus on good water management as part of corporate social responsibility reporting.”

Not all businesses are the same

“Businesses use 30 per cent of the water put into public supply in England. The top consuming one per cent (around 13,000 customers) are very large users, consuming around 50 per cent of that. Because of this, they have a potentially crucial role to help save water and meet the targets to reduce demand.

“These customers are shown in more detail on our large user dashboard, which shows locations, who the wholesaler is, the retailer and water consumption ranking on the map tab. It is especially key that these businesses work with their retailer and ensure they have plans in place if public water is not available.”

What about my sector?

“Around 90 per cent of businesses use water for domestic-like purposes for toilets and taps, and so need the same water-saving messages and solutions as households. The remaining customers use water in a process or product, so need different and often more bespoke solutions.

“A high-level view of the sectors in the NHH (non-household) market by wholesaler, retailer and water resource zone deficit are visualised on the Industry Segmentation tab of our Water Efficiency dashboard. The MOSL School Benchmarking dashboard shows average water usage by school and pupil to support identification and prioritisation. The Market Improvement Fund Project Discovery Benchmarking tool, COCOA schema, allows other sector types to get an idea of how their water usage compares with similar sized sites in their sector.”

What’s happening in my area?

Water deficits and water scarcity vary geographically and change through time. Some areas are already being impacted by water shortages, with new business connections being turned away unless they can demonstrate they are water neutral in Cambridge and North Sussex.

MOSL offers a national view to support understanding of regional differences and critical events. To see if your business is located in an area of water deficit, you can go to its Water Scarcity by postal sector map.

Water companies have ambitious plans to roll out smart water meters to businesses in the next five to 10 years, enabling new opportunities such as time of use tariffs. Water companies will be providing more detail on their detailed deployment plans for different areas in due course.

Summer water checklist

Acting now to save water is a key responsible business action. Here are five things you can do today:

1. Check for leaks and review your water consumption. You could compare with similar businesses using the COCOA schema
2. All businesses have a water retailer, so ask your retailer what it can do for you! Shop around – if your retailer can’t deliver what you need then you have the option to switch
3. Review your ‘no water’ plan – improved resilience options could include on-site storage, non-potable alternatives and recycling
4. If your area is smart metered, request more granular data services like continuous flow alerts and keep an eye out for time of use tariffs that could be coming soon
5. Interested to understand more about what you could do? Read the UK Water Efficiency Strategy to 2030 and contact Waterwise to apply for a Waterwise Checkmark for Offices award for your business premises.

Jo Osborn is deputy head of policy and public affairs at Waterwise and Liz D’Arcy is head of data insights and analytics at MOSL.

Waterwise is the leading independent voice in the UK for using water wisely. It is the UK’s conscience on water efficiency, on behalf of people and the planet, and is an expert in water efficiency policy, regulation, research, behaviour and campaigns. Its vision is that water is used wisely every day, everywhere, by everyone.

MOSL is a not-for-profit company which operates the water market for businesses that opened up to competition in 2017. MOSL operates the central IT system that enables more than 1.2 million business customers to choose who supplies their retail water and wastewater services. It also uses its central oversight and data insight to support the evolution of the market to deliver improved outcomes for customers.

For more information on water efficiency and the work of Waterwise and MOSL, see:

waterwise.org.uk

[email protected]

mosl.co.uk