Waterwise reports on the first year of its Water Efficiency Strategy in action

Waterwise last week issued a progress report on its Water Efficiency Strategy for the UK, following the completion of the first 12 months since the national water saving plan was launched in June 2017.

The group listed some of the key outcomes from year one as:

• reviewing per capita consumption (PCC) and water efficiency options in draft Water Resource Management Plans and providing evidence to support a PCC target in England;

• its Leadership Group on Water Efficiency and Customer Participation drove top-down buy-in to water efficiency in water companies and supported national research on segmentation along with individual water companies trialling innovative behaviour change approaches;

• working on the ‘Independent review of the costs and benefits of water labelling options in the UK’ – a major evidence project demonstrating the potentially significant impact of effective labelling, building regulations and product standards on consumption; and

• launch of the Retailers’ Leadership Group for Water Efficiency and review of water efficiency services being offered by retailers as well as how wholesaler companies are addressing non-household water efficiency.

The report was launched at a Westminster event last Tuesday at which Anglian Water’s head of public affairs Daniel Johns was welcomed as new chair of the Strategy Steering Group as Jean Spencer stepped down. The event also featured the presentation to Waterwise of the 2018 Institution of Civil Engineers’ Chris Binnie Award for Sustainable Water Management.

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