CCW: We must change how people view water

CCW has issued a stark warning that consumers will have to adapt to using water differently to safeguard this precious resource for the future.

With deficits predicted to reach up to four billion litres per day by 2050, the industry has been calling for changes to how consumers use water to ensure enough if left in the environment.

Mike Keil, director of policy, research and campaigning at the consumer watchdog, told the Utility Week Forum earlier this month: “Adapt or die, or adapt or fail spectacularly if we don’t adapt and change how people use water.”

CCW’s research highlighted the disconnect many people experience between consuming water in their homes and workplaces and the natural environment. Keil said nine out of ten people in a CCW survey understood water and environment are linked, but only one in five recognised the environmental impact of consumption.

Keil suggested many people did not know, or perhaps care, about the looming shortages. He noted that while infrastructure investments to plug the gap have been planned for the coming decades, such as major transfer schemes and new reservoirs, far less has been done on the demand management side.

The group has spearheaded a people and environment programme that includes a series of webinars, created for members of the public, to gain practical water saving advice that will lower not only water bills but also energy. Keil explained how this would lead to carbon savings by not having to treat and pump as much water into supply networks.

Utility Week Forum explored balancing the need for to invest in infrastructure to ensure reliable water supplies, reducing carbon emissions and environmental impact, while remaining affordable for all billpayers.

“Investment and affordability go hand in hand,” Keil said. “you cannot have one without the other at PR24, no one should be forced to choose between investment and pushing people into water poverty. We can do better than this as a sector. We all need to want to strive to be better in this area and not make the choice between investing and bills going up.”

CCW proposed a single social tariff for low income households regardless of where they live in the country to government as a means to support billpayers without hampering investment requirements at future price reviews. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is reviewing the suggestion that the sector and its regulators hope to see introduced with PR24.