LONDON, England – Water regulator Ofwat is consulting on setting a leakage “challenge” for water utilities between 2020-25.
The organisation believes that utilities can collectively save up to 170 billion litres per year by targeting leaks.
In a statement, Ofwat said: “While water companies have made real efforts in recent years to cut down on leaks, Ofwat is encouraging all to go much further and set ambitious commitments with their customers. To achieve these commitments, companies will need to find new ways of detecting and reducing leaks and must ensure that their infrastructure is kept up to scratch.”
Earlier this year an analysis from the Guardian questioned why utilities are asking customers to save water when a significant amount is still lost in the network.
Still in its early stages, Ofwat said the leakage “challenge” is currently being consulted on.
The regulator is responsible for setting individual targets for utilities, based on an approach called the economic level of leakage, or ELL.
The Consumer Council for Water said it supports the “principle that the cost of reducing leakage levels should be less than the cost of replacing that water from another source”.
David Black, senior director at Ofwat, said:“Given the costs involved in treating water, these leaking pipes are money down the drain. Customers feel strongly about stopping leaks and while the sector has made progress, there is a lot more companies could and should do. That’s why we’re pushing each water company to really stretch themselves and get their leakage levels down.”
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