Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | AUGUST 2021 | 21 Policy & Regulation ment is just the beginning of the package being revealed, not the end." This is echoed by Waterwise head of policy and strategy Nathan Richardson, who says: "We will want to see the proposed roadmap published next year with relevant organisations including government commit- ting 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 welcomes this getting the green light. "Bring- ing in any new regulations at the moment is difficult, so for Defra to commit to the man- datory 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." Greater ambition However, he says the water efficiency group is keen to see greater ambition on building standards and said the statement could have been stronger. "For example, asking all Eng- lish local authorities to move to 110l per per- son 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 the government views these building standards very much as the mini- mum expected and not the ceiling on ambi- tion, especially in water-stressed areas or for larger developments." The National Infrastructure Commission "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." National engagement Stevens adds that any steps to help reduce personal water consumption would help but there is a need for a government-backed vis- ible 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 envi- ronment as their main concern. The appe- tite 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 cam- paign set out four "asks", of which two have been adopted by Defra. Director of corporate affairs Jake Rigg tells Utility Week: "We welcome the announce- ment but would like to see government go further and introduce the other asks from the campaign, especially building regulations." Similarly, Toby Willison, director of envi- ronment and corporate affairs at Southern Water, says it would be "a missed opportu- nity" if the point on building regulations is not re-examined within BEIS's Future Build- ing Standards assessment, the consultation for which ended in April. Within Southern's region, which is one of the most water- stressed and highly populated in the coun- try, there is already ambition for 100 litres per day per capita consumption. Willison says: "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. Build- ing regulations have to be the next step to be tackled. If the BEIS strategy covers energy it simply needs to include water too." He advocates 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 them to make informed decisions and drives good behaviour." Richardson says 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 says. Ruth Williams, water correspondent (NIC) recommended in its 2018 Assessment that the country would face a deficit of 4,000 megalitres (Ml) of water a day by 2050 with- out significant action being taken. To make up this shortfall the NIC says both that supply has to increase and demand has to fall. In its assessment, the NIC esti- mates 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. The head of policy at the NIC, Giles Ste- vens, says: "Compulsory metering is the way to go, its' the recommendation we put to gov- ernment. 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 is disappointed by the cautious approach to metering in the announcement. More than half the country is now classi- fied 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 it to those in water-stressed areas," Richard- son says. "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.

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