In written evidence published last week, many respondents argued that price signals would be essential to drive down consumption and defend drought-threatened watercourses.
On the other hand, there were concerns that government proposals to help people struggling to afford water bills were inadequate.
Organisations as diverse as water companies, Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants and WWF-UK called for stronger promotion of metering to help manage demand.
This came with the recognition that some households would inevitably see their bills rise and would need support.
The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management expressed alarm at the White Paper’s assertion that “water is relatively cheap compared to many other household bills, and we want it to stay that way”. It branded as “naive and fanciful” assumptions that anything but higher prices would change consumer behaviour enough to meet environmental challenges.
Waterwise said it was disappointing the government had ruled out a strategic transition to universal metering in favour of “a patchwork of local solutions”. This was counter-productive, it said, “since affordability issues will be exacerbated during the transition, if unmanaged”.
A number of respondents raised issues with the government’s similarly localised approach to helping customers with bills, which relies on social tariffs designed by water companies. Some questioned whether private firms were best placed to assess social need.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee is expected to hold its first inquiry hearing into the Water White Paper on 22 February.
Golf before food production?
Major water users welcomed the go-ahead for retail competition, but raised certain concerns about the government’s abstraction reform proposals.
Farming and food groups are worried their members could be priced out of a single abstraction licence market without some form of strategic prioritisation. “There is a risk that discretionary uses, such as irrigation for golf courses, take precedence over activities such as food production simply on the basis of ability to pay,” warned the Food and Drink Federation.
The Association of Electricity Producers and SSE urged the government to make sure sufficient volumes of water were available for generation. They said water was the most efficient way to cool thermal power stations and trying to minimise its use would conflict with other policy pressures.
by Megan Darby
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 17 February 2012.
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