Do Defra’s efficiency measures go far enough?

Defra’s announcement this week that water labels, visible at the point of sale for all household and business appliances, would be mandatory is hugely positive. However, the statement from secretary of state George Eustice included just one of several recommendations to reach the 2050 per capita consumption target of 110 litres.

Given that the consultation was launched in 2019, the sector has waited patiently for an announcement that felt underwhelming. Utility Week talks to the sector about what message this sends about efficiency.

“Announcements on water efficiency don’t come around too often,” Daniel Johns, head of public affairs at Anglian Water said. “Yesterday’s announcement was a missed opportunity to set out the full package of policies we need.  It’s clear from Defra’s own summary of consultation responses and call for evidence that the case to do all three measures together was overwhelming.”

Delight at the government-backed water label was combined with disappointment that it was not accompanied by tighter building regulations and minimum product standards, which the label would underpin.

Defra chose to add only optional standards for new-build homes of 110 litres per person per day.

Local authorities will be “encouraged” to adopt optional minimum building standards of 110 litres of water per person daily in new builds in water stressed areas. From 2022 a roadmap will be developed for greater water efficiency in new builds including exploring revising building regulations.

Johns said the message was really clear from the steering group for the UK Water Efficiency Strategy, which he chairs, that all three measures need to be working in combination to have the biggest impact on water consumption between now and 2050.

“The government has set a target to get to an average of 110 litres per person per day by then but this announcement falls short of the policies we need to get there.”

He explained that having a water label will make it really easy to tighten building regulations and impose product standards.

“You just have to change building regulations to state that developers can only fit A or B-rated appliances, taps and showers in new homes. That would simplify the system for housebuilders and create a level playing field, removing the ambiguity that exists at the moment.  Product standards would be easy too, by preventing the most wasteful products, like a G-rated dishwasher, being sold.”

A study by Artesia showed that a water label by itself would reduce household consumption by 13 litres per person per day, but including minimum product standards would double that to 27 litres per person per day.

“The combined package we need is good for customers and good for the environment,” Johns said. “I hope yesterday’s announcement is just the beginning of the package being revealed, not the end.”

This was echoed by Waterwise’ head of policy and strategy, Nathan Richardson, who said: “We will want to see the proposed roadmap published next year with relevant organisations including government committing to do things. We definitely don’t want to see a report gathering dust on a shelf. It has to lead to further action.”

Waterwise has campaigned for water labelling for several years and Richardson welcomed this being given the green light. “Bringing in any new regulations at the moment is difficult, so for Defra to commit to the mandatory water label is a really big win. Over time it will have a huge impact in terms of saving water and energy, so really pleased to see that.”

However, he said the water efficiency group was keen to see greater ambition on building standards and said the statement could have been stronger. “For example, asking all English local authorities to move to 110l per person per day minimum immediately, as they already are in Wales. We think that in the letter proposed by the minister it needs to be made clear that government view these building standards very much as the minimum expected and not the ceiling on ambition, especially in water stressed areas or for larger developments.”

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) recommended in its 2018 Assessment that the country would face a deficit of 4,000 megalitres (Ml) of water daily by 2050 without significant action being taken.

The NIC’s target of 4,000Ml per day is a combination of both supply increase and demand reduction. In its assessment the NIC estimated that speeding up water metering to reach every home during the 2030s could save an additional 400Ml per day by 2050, against the current rollout rate.

Head of policy at the NIC, Giles Stevens, said: “Compulsory metering is the way to go, its’ the recommendation we put to government. To reach the big challenges we’ve got to meet the 4,000 megalitres a day that we set out, you need every option that we’ve got here. Metering supports that and smart metering has an interesting role to play.”

Waterwise was disappointed by the cautious approach to metering in the announcement. More than half the country is now classified as water stressed so companies will be required to assess metering as an option for customers, which Richardson believes does not go far enough.

“Extending the water stressed areas is a step forward but we would have liked the government to allow all companies to take forward compulsory metering not limiting to those in water stressed areas,” Richardson said.

“It feels a bit defensive and doesn’t feel like there’s enough recognition of the benefits of smart metering for customers and the environment. Maybe there is still a perception in some government circles that people just don’t want meters or they don’t see the benefits and so we hope to undertake some research into this over the next few months.”

Stevens added that any steps to help reduce personal water consumption would help but there was a need for a government-backed visible marketing campaign.

“Anything that’s trying to get into this area needs more engagement at a national level. People are interested in it and our social research shows people rate the environment as their main concern. The appetite is out there so the first thing to consider could be a national marketing campaign that’s tailored in the background using water companies’ data about their customer base.”

Affinity Water has been instrumental and provided thought leadership on efficiency campaigning. Its own #WhyNotWater campaign set out four ‘asks’, of which two have been adopted by Defra.

Director of corporate affairs, Jake Rigg, told Utility Week: “We welcome the announcement but would like to see government go further and introduce the other asks from the campaign, especially for building regulations.”

Similarly Toby Willison, director of environment and corporate affairs at Southern, said it would be “a missed opportunity” if the point on building regulations is not re-examined within BEIS’ Future Building Standards assessment, the consultation of which ended in April. Within Southern’s region, which is one of the most water stressed and highly populated, there is already ambition for 100 litres per day per capita consumption.

Willison added: “It’s got to be good to have a focus on water efficiency because we know how carbon intensive it is to produce water that we take from the environment. Building regulations have to be the next step to be tackled. If the BEIS strategy covers energy it simply needs to include water too.”

He advocated for more metering to make usage visible for all consumers to give them an opportunity to lower consumption and see their own impact. “Giving people the information allows to make informed decisions and drives good behaviour.”

Richardson said there was more work for the sector and Waterwise to do.

“Overall there are some big positives and it’s a step forward but it is also clear that we need to keep on the case where we need to see further improvements,” he said.