Defra consults on "ambitious" target for personal water consumption

Defra last week published its long-awaited consultation on measures that might be taken to reduce personal water use, together with a call for evidence to gather data and information on what an “achievable but ambitious” personal consumption target could be.

The consultation, open until 11 October, invited responses from the public as well as specialists including water companies and academics. It will look at measures on how to achieve this non-binding target and will include exploratory questions around:

• the labelling of water-using products;

• how building standards can be improved;

• the future role of metering;

• the implementation of behaviour change campaigns; and,

• how to improve the availability of information for consumers.

On average, a person in England currently uses 141 litres of water per day, and over the last few years consumption figures have begun to rise. Research by the National Infrastructure Commission has shown that if this trend continues, England could see significant water deficits by 2050.