Reducing Water Wastage in the UK Annual Report (2007)
Annual report on the activities of Waterwise and our partners, supporters and stakeholders
our aim
Our aim is to reverse the upward trend in how much water we all use at home and at work by 2010. We will develop a framework to demonstrate the benefits of water efficiency in the UK supported by a robust social, economic and environmental evidence base. By 2010, water companies will be carrying out large- scale water efficiency projects alongside new resource developments. Water efficiency will be part of everyone’s lives.
objectives
Championing water efficiency within the water industry
Shaping a positive regulatory framework for water efficiency
Building the evidence base for water efficiency through large scale pilot schemes and other research
Ensuring water efficiency in the built environment sector
Influencing government policies on water efficiency
Understanding and changing consumer perceptions of water efficiency and encouraging wise use of water
Promoting the social benefits of and addressing the barriers to water efficiency
board
Maria Adebowale (Chair) – Director of Capacity Global
Ian Barker – Head of Water Resources, Environment Agency
David Butler – Co-Director of Centre for Water Systems, University of Exeter
Paul Hope, Head of Water Resource Economics, Ofwat (Observer)
Peter Jiggins – Head of Water Supply and Regulation, Defra (Observer)
Walter Menzies – Chief Executive of the Mersey Basin Campaign
Pamela Taylor – Chief Executive of Water UK
Jacob Tompkins – Director of Waterwise
Consumer Council for Water (Observer: replacement for Teresa Evans not formally confirmed at time of press)
(Two further water company representatives are expected to join the Board in time for the December 2007 Board meeting)
staff
Melanie Cooper – Human Resource and Finance Manager Victoria Higgins – Communications Coordinator
Chris Philpot – Media and Campaigns Manager
Andrew Pitt – Waterwise East Water Efficiency Coordinator Nicci Russell – Head of Policy
Jacob Tompkins – Director
Gareth Walker – Research Associate Joanne Zygmunt – Head of Research
Waterwise is building the Evidence Base for large-scale water efficiency for the Water Saving Group (a group focussing on reducing household consumption in England, chaired by the Environment Minister) – a project called„Optimising Water Efficiency Costs and Benefits‟.
We are due to present the Evidence Base to the Water Saving Group, for use in Period Review 2009 (PR09), during 2008 and 2009 with an interim report in late 2007. The Evidence Base will produce a set of scenarios for UK water company water efficiency programmes based upon best available knowledge that can be used to inform water company investment with particular relation to the Periodic Review.
The scenarios will look at different approaches to delivering water efficiency and will present various logistical options and their influence on the costs and benefits, for example the methods used to identify households for retrofit and the staff used to carry out the work. The Evidence Base will draw upon the 20 or so large-scale domestic water efficiency projects being run by UK water companies.
Data from water company projects will be forthcoming at different stages over the coming year. Waterwise will aim to produce the project outputs as quickly as possible as the fit with PR09 is very tight. Some of the projects have already reported, and Waterwise will produce a full working version of the Evidence Base for large-scale water efficiency in March 2008. This is in time for companies to use in their draft PR09 business plans. The following version of the Evidence Base will be produced in October 2008, in time for companies to use in their final PR09 business plans and final Statutory Resource Management Plans (SRMP). Both the March and
October versions will contain water efficiency scenarios and useable cost-benefit figures: the scenarios will include multiple water efficiency measures.
In addition, regular monthly updates of the Evidence Base, analysing further data as projects report, will be produced from November 2007, culminating in a final Evidence Base in May/June 2009, for Ofwat to use in their analysis of company returns, before publishing draft determinations in July 2009.
The Water Saving Group agreed that the Evidence Base project should be overseen by a high-level Steering Group. Waterwise‟s EvidenceBase Steering Group – overviewing the project – is chaired by Jean Spencer, Regulation Director at Anglian Water, and includes senior representatives from Communities and Local Government (CLG), the Department of Environment and Regulatory Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency, Ofwat, UKWIR, Water UK‟sRegulation network, Water UK‟s Water Efficiency Network, and Waterwise. The Steering Group met for the first time on 2 October 2007.
Through the Water Saving Group, Waterwise has high-level buy-in for the Evidence base, including from Ofwat and Water UK (Regina Finn, Chief Executive, Ofwat and Pamela Taylor, Chief Executive, Water UK).