Waterwise supporters unveil initiatives at its annual conference

Wave announced it had become a new Waterwise supporter. It joined Business Stream and Water Plus as retailers backing the NGO’s water efficiency mission.

Waterwise called for a national campaign to raise awareness of the water lost by malfunctioning toilets as its Water Efficiency Strategy Steering Group published a position statement on leaky lavatories. Research shows 5-8% of toilets are leaking and fixing them can halve customer bills and contribute 10% of the additional capacity needed to cope with extreme drought in 2050. The NGO also said water companies should scale up the find and fix activities, while the WRAS testing regime needed a review.

Thames Water launched a new water calculator, an online tool to help customers save money and water. It predicted water and energy consumption based on responses to questions and shows how simple changes can cut bills. Water efficiency manager, Andrew Tucker, said: “Although we’ve previously had online calculators, the new one has been designed to reflect typical lifestyles and modern living based on feedback from our own customers. It’s also the first calculator of its kind to identify how much water a customer typically uses outside of their home, such as when showering at the gym. This gives everyone a better understanding of their real life daily water use.”