Nottingham Council starts self supply and launches water efficiency loan scheme…

Nottingham City Council is set to begin supplying its own water from this Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the Council secured self supply licences from Ofwat. Its Energy Services team will take over from its current retailer on 14 August, and start buying water and wastewater services wholesale from Severn Trent.

The council said its main aim is to reduce operating costs and increase resource efficiency. In addition, Energy Services is launching a Water Efficiency Loan Scheme (WELS) which aims to invest in water efficiency projects across the council’s buildings to further increase savings to the annual water spend, with an estimated saving of 10% a year.

Nottingham will be the first council to run its own water services in-house, saving an estimated £64,000 a year – with further efficiencies expected through the WELS improvements. It commented: “This will benefit the city, ultimately with cheaper running costs for community spaces such as leisure centres and libraries, which helps to protect the council’s front line services for local people.”