We need to be more water aware and we need to use water wisely, or we risk placing parts of this country under severe water stress.
Last March, the Environment Agency warned that the UK could see water shortages by 2050 if action is not taken to conserve supplies. Collectively, the UK sends a fifth of its water supply down the drain and the average consumer in England and Wales uses 142 litres of water a day.
But the responsibility for tackling this doesn't solely lie with water providers. With water management being revamped in response to the climate crisis, now is the time for collaboration across industries, government and down to every individual in the UK. It boils down to two points: we need to be more water aware and we need to use water wisely, or we risk placing parts of this country under severe water stress.
Today marks the start of Water Saving Week. It's a time to celebrate this natural resource but also, more pressingly, to raise awareness of its scarcity and the issues around water use and to share solutions for saving water and maintaining its efficient use.
A smart solution how we're helping the industry Every day, 2.9 billion litres of water are lost to leakages. This makes up an astounding 20% of the public water supply. Leakages mean more water needed in the network, and more energy required to process and transport that water.
This is where smart water metering has become integral. AMI smart water meters collect and present data in near real-time, meaning households and businesses can be much better informed about their water consumption.
In 2020, Thames Water reported that customers with smart meters were using around 17% less water than those without, while Anglian Water Services predicted an 18% reduction in consumption in its forward investment plans thanks to smart metering.
Combatting the climate crisis Smart metering technology also has a vital role to play in helping the UK meet its net zero targets and ultimately, tackle the climate crisis. According to joint analysis from Arqiva and Waterwise, of the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions, 6% are estimated to arise through household water supply and use. Of these, 90% relate to water use in the home. The remaining 10% comes from water companies supplying water and removing and treating wastewater. Our calculations reveal that fitting one million smart water meters in the UK each year for the next 15 years could save one billion litres of water a day by the mid-2030s. In turn, this could reduce the UK's current greenhouse gas emissions by up to 0.5%.
So, what's next?
Moving metering to the mainstream Calling for a mandate for the universal rollout of smart water meters by 2035 is the first step towards preventing water shortages. The good news is that this is both achievable and realistic based on current technology and services. On top of this, there's an urgent need to develop policies which support, rather than hinder, progress towards reducing water use, waste and tackling the associated carbon emissions.
As we approach COP26, the government and broader industry has a golden opportunity to improve cooperation on water supply issues, ensuring that environmental and sustainability measures are at the heart of policy going forward. In its journey to achieving net zero by 2030, the water industry and wider society are faced with the challenge of securing the UK's current and future water supply. It's ambitious, but the industry is committed to protecting and enhancing the environment and intends to be part of the solution to the climate crisis. This week is a perfect moment of reflection next time you're in the shower or brushing your teeth, remember we can all take action to save water.
Published
17/05/2021
Author
John Lillistone, Director of Utilities, Arqiva
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
David Dvir, 2D founder (left), Sundeep Reddy (center), and Jean-Marc Bouchut (right), both of Zeiss...
23/07/2026
Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program 23 July 2026
Screen Australia has today announced the Above the Line Documentary Accel...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial today announced Honda as sponsor of Today with David McCullagh RT Radio 1, weekdays 9am 11am.
Broadcasting directly after Morning Ireland in ...
23/07/2026
RT News is pleased to announce Barry Gallagher has been assigned as the new journalist covering news from Cork, Kerry and the wider Southern region
Working al...
23/07/2026
Lock in and load up the cloud. GFN Thursday brings fresh updates and new adventu...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang today visited the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, to commission an NVIDIA DGX GB300 system - bringing one...
We need to be more water aware and we need to use water wisely, or we risk placing parts of this country under severe water stress.
