Anglian rolls out meters following successful trial

Anglian Water has announced plans to roll out water meters across its catchment area after a successful trial that saw consumption drop by 8 per cent as part of the company’s efforts to prepare for a predicted water shortfall by 2025.

The company will upgrade and install 760,000 water meters for homes and businesses across its region over the next five years.

The installations will begin next month under a contract with Arqiva as part of Anglian’s demand management strategy.

The company trialled the meters in Newmarket, a shop window for projects the company is working on. The meter technology allows households to monitor their daily water usage through regular readings, which resulted in an 8 per cent drop in water consumption in the first 12 months of the three-year trial.

Teams of engineers will install up to 750 meters a day that are predominately outside of properties meaning they can be fitted without having to enter customers’ homes.

The meters will not only give billpayers a better understanding of what they use, but also help identify leaks in the network.

The metering is part of a 25-year water resource management plan (WRMP) by Anglian to ensure the demands can be met while protecting the environment and natural assets.

Peter Simpson, Anglian Water’s chief executive, said: “Our WRMP outlines a twin track approach to tackle these issues: the first part is managing demand for water by installing upgraded meters to help customers understand their water usage, as well as helping us to pinpoint property-side leaks which can lose hundreds of litres of water a day.”

The East of England is predicted to have a shortfall of 30 million litres of water each day by 2025. To manage this, Anglian has also embarked on a 500 kilometre transfer project to move water around its network.