Smart water meters must be rolled out from 2025 and older meter stock replaced, for the sector to have any chance of meeting demand reduction targets, government has said.
Responding to draft Water Resource Management Plans (WRMPs), the Environment department (Defra) called for a step up in action by the water sector to make “crucial” reductions.
It highlighted the difference between how much water is calculated to be needed in the future and the savings company and regional plans indicate they can achieve.
The Environment Act set a target to reduce water use by 20% by 2038, however Defra said current plans would only deliver 17% per capita consumption (PCC) reduction by then.
Defra said it expects companies to update plans and “to act quickly and take significant steps forward on installing smart meters and delivering on their wider water efficiency commitments.”
It said water companies should stop installing meters that need to be manually read and instead to rollout smart meters to capture sub-daily usage data.
“This needs to happen more quickly than currently planned,” Defra’s response states. “We expect all water companies to install smart meters from 2025, and to replace the current basic meter stock.”
This must be reflected in both household and business properties. Defra said current WRMPs also do not go far enough to support non-household demand reduction targets of 9% by 2038. At present the draft plans will only deliver 1.8% reduction, it adds.
At present, less than 60% of properties are metered and far fewer are on a smart meter.
For the next price review (PR24) Ofwat has ringfenced £100 million for water efficiency innovation to encourage a step up in technologies, operations and campaigns to help people use less water.
Critics have said measures to reduce consumption can get overlooked in business plans when there are competing demands for capital investment.
Measures to reduce consumption have called for by water companies, the Environment Agency and Waterwise. Despite former EA chief executive James Bevan warning of the Jaws of Death back in 2018, policymakers have hitherto been slow to react.