Waterwise and the Environment Agency, hosting the UK Water Efficiency Awards, said UK businesses could save more than £3.5 billion a year with water efficiency measures.
Thames Water won the Environment Agency chairman’s award for Save Water Swindon, a project to retrofit homes with water saving devices and encourage behaviour change, in partnership with Waterwise and WWF. In a different collaboration, with Action for the River Kennet, the company also won the community-led initiative prize for Care for the Kennet.
Anglian Water was recognised for The Potting Shed, a campaign put together in six weeks to encourage drought-resilient gardening.
There were prizes for Wessex Water, NI Water and Essex & Suffolk Water for a tariff trial, rainwater harvesting scheme and home retrofit programme respectively.
Jacob Tompkins, Waterwise’s managing director, said: “We’ve been impressed by the calibre of all the entries this year; it’s been truly inspiring to see all the great work on water efficiency that’s being done all across the UK.”
The organisation behind rapping cartoon camel GabiH2O won plaudits for education, while others showed water saving in agriculture, businesses and public bodies.
Lord Chris Smith, chairman of the Environment Agency, said: “The recent drought has brought the need for water efficiency into sharp focus. We want to see all businesses reducing their water usage and using this to deliver environmental and financial benefits.
“What can be achieved is highlighted by this year’s winners – all of whom should be praised for not only saving water but also putting themselves a step ahead of their competitors, saving money and preparing for the future.”