Waterwise welcomes the publication of the Government’s New Vision for Water White Paper. As the paper acknowledges, the UK faces a 6 billion litre per day shortfall in water supplies by 2055.
Having long advocated for clearer strategic direction, we are encouraged by the commitment to provide a new single regulator with long-term, 25-year priorities. Shifting the regulatory focus toward outcomes for people, the economy, and the environment—rather than just process—is a vital step toward securing sustainable water supplies.
We are particularly pleased to see plans to streamline water system planning, and take a cross-sectoral approach to ensure national targets are translated into effective local action. We hope the regional plans, focussing on the water environment and water supply, will fully harness the benefits of water efficiency.
Waterwise CEO, Nicci Russell, comments:
“At Waterwise we are pleased to see a clearer strategic direction – and increased political prescription of regulation, to ensure it meets priorities. We remain encouraged by the commitment to provide a new single regulator with long-term, 25-year priorities, and eagerly await the transition plan and interim strategic policy statements from both governments, so we can all get stuck into delivery of the new approach and culture. We believe that shifting the regulatory focus toward outcomes for people, the economy, and the environment—rather than just process—is a vital step toward securing sustainable water supplies. And we are excited about the hooks for water efficiency, smart metering and water reuse – nothing happens without water, and we are running out.”
Key areas we welcome include:
- Innovation in Water Management: We support plans to manage water more sustainably, including rainwater management and sustainable drainage systems, and the recognition that water efficiency must go hand in hand with household water reuse and rainwater harvesting.
- Infrastructure & Monitoring: Plans to better understand the condition of the water system and set standards for condition and resilience are long overdue. The addition of improved monitoring will be critical in evaluating the success of the demand reduction and water efficiency interventions that are needed.
- Smart Metering: Unlocking barriers to accelerate the rollout of smart meters will empower customers and provide water companies with the data needed for precise resource management.
- Policy & Accountability: We welcome the reaffirmed commitment to a Mandatory Water Efficiency Label. We support the idea of new powers to make legislation on sufficiency and consider new legislation enabling the regulator to take stronger action against water companies who fail to ensure a sufficient supply.
- Collaboration: We are heartened by the commitment to cross-departmental work, specifically with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department of Health and Social Care, linking water use to carbon budgets and public health.
Waterwise looks forward to reviewing the implementation details and working alongside the Government to deliver the urgent action required to implement the measures needed to ensure a sustainable future water supply.
