Every drop of water we supply to households has been abstracted from rivers, reservoirs and underground aquifers. It is crucial that we work with our customers to reduce this abstraction if we are to restore and protect these environments, particularly in the face of climate change.
We have ambitious targets to reduce leakage levels by 15% between 2025-2030.As well as using less water generally in the home, there are other important ways of changing how much water that we supply to customers is used.
Rainwater harvestingRainwater harvesting is the process of capturing and storing rainwater, commonly in the garden for outside use in water butts, but this can be expanded for use inside a property. That water can then be used for tasks that do not require water that has been treated to drinking water standard, such as flushing the toilet or irrigation.
We have provided advice and grants to farmers in our region, helping them to install rainwater harvesting systems and become more resilient during periods of drought. This added resilience then reduces their need to take water from us.
Many new commercial developments (like offices, hotels and factories) use rainwater harvesting solutions to water communal outdoor spaces like gardens, and to flush toilets. There are limited examples of these systems being used in homes due to the cost of retrofitting and maintenance. For new developments and properties, systems can be designed at development scale, but they can also increase the price of new houses and make them less attractive to potential buyers if done for individual properties. Whilst only minimal treatment may be required, such as filtration and some disinfection depending on use, the limiting factor is usually the amount that can be stored when rainwater can be captured.
GreywaterGreywater reuse of water looks at safely collecting and reusing wasted water from household activities such as washing up, showers, baths and washing machines. Similarly to rainwater harvesting, this water can then be used to flush toilets, and water gardens, but as scale will usually require more treatment before some uses.
Again, this can be prohibitively expensive for households, but we can all take some simple actions to reuse some greywater for watering plants for example:
Efficient use of clean water supplies alone will not meet per person demand levels of below 90-100 litres a day, and some form of re-use is usually required to meet aspirational targets of 80 litres per person a day or lower. We’re working closely with developers to help promote the benefits of these schemes on new developments and to provide advice and support where needed, and advocating changes to building regulations that will ensure new development includes re-use to help protect water supplies into the future.
Water re-use systems can be a great way of reducing pressure on water resources and the use of clean drinking water for some activities. They do need to be designed in accordance with best practice and there are published British Standards for selecting the most appropriate solution, which will also need to comply with the water fitting regulations. Reducing the quantity of water than runs off roofs will also reduce the water that enters the drainage system, these high flows can put additional pressure on the sewage system and potentially combined sewer overflows and discharges.
We advise that you consult an approved plumber for any installation you might be considering.