Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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16 | AUGUST 2016 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Industry leader Ben Earl, Water Efficiency Manager, Southern Water "It's a proactive, outwardly facing campaign to explain the value of saving water." S outhern Water's recently concluded compulsory metering programme has made it something of a test case in the UK water industry where water efficiency measures are concerned. With over 90 per cent of customers now metered, and Southern putting significant funding into a water efficiency programme for AMP6, the rest of the sector is watching with interest to see how the south coast utility seeks to persuade its customers to reduce consumption, and how its customers respond to these efforts. Reflecting the fact that it operates in a water-stressed area of the country, Southern has committed in AMP6 to achieving a reduction in its customers' water consumption from 148 litres to 133.7 litres per person per day, and has an outcome delivery incentive from Ofwat to match. The man tasked with achieving this goal, Southern Water's Water Efficiency Manager Ben Earl, is clear that the metering programme has affected the way all its customers think about their water, but says that a more targeted approach is now required to reach those customers that require extra help. "We know that 60% of our customers are better off a"er going on to a meter, and 40% are worse off," Earl tells WWT. "So the majority are better placed, but for that 40%, who in a lot of cases went on to the meter quite reluctantly, there is a real challenge. We need to come up with some tools to help those customers make a real difference to their family finances by careful management of water. We know that water isn't the highest on everyone's list of priorities - energy costs are higher - but when you factor in the fact that nearly a quarter of your energy bill is hot water usage at home, then water efficiency is very important." Southern recently commissioned a study from environmental think tank Green Alliance showing that the average household can save £78 per year on water and energy bills by implementing simple water efficiency measures, such as fitting water-saving devices on showers and toilets and not overfilling the kettle. This might not be as much as can be saved by switching energy company, for example, but the important message for customers is that such changes are easy and need not make any difference to your life, says Earl. "We are not asking people not to have a bath, or not to use water on their garden or anything like that," he says. "They can cut out the waste and still have everything they want in terms of how they manage their property. It is an appealing message, but it does take a bit of thought." Earl dislikes the blanket approach of sending out free products in the post – the only products which they send out like this are save-a-flush bags for toilet cisterns, which are reasonably cheap – and instead uses tailored visits and advice, delivered with contract partner Aqualogic. These 'audits' are free for customers and the devices fitted are free as well; the personal touch ensures that the kit and the usage advice given are appropriate for that particular property. However, the key to Interview by James Brockett