Innovation is about more than clever new technology, it is about changing how services are delivered, water regulator Ofwat has insisted.
The regulator’s senior director of Water 2020, David Black, pointed out that, historically, regulation had penalised losers when new approaches have failed, which may have curbed appetite for innovation.
However, he added, the new outcomes-focused approach will reward winners and incentivise innovation.
Speaking at Waterwise’s annual water efficiency conference, Black said: “We expect companies to be adopting new technology to manage their networks, thinking about how they interact with customers, how they use customer data effectively to target services and reduce demand.”
He continued: “There is no more water, from the beginning of the value chain to the end, we are simply moving around what already exists.
“If we want to create more water, we have to reduce the amount of demand on it to start with.
“It might take a generation but we need to start getting customers used to the idea that water is a scarce resource – companies have a huge part to play in that.”
Black underlined the importance of water efficiency, saying the “companies have made a good start, but there is still much to do”.
“We think water companies should be thinking about and working on water efficiency, not only through the water efficiency practitioners in their supply/demand teams, but at board level, and perhaps most importantly, through the customer lens,” he said.