The government has confirmed that long-awaited water efficiency labels will soon become mandatory for a range of households appliances.
The proposal received widespread support during a consultation on making water efficiency labelling mandatory by 2025.
Appliances which will have to include a water efficiency label in the future include toilets, sinks, dishwashers, shower outlets and washing machines.
The labels will provide a rating from A to F relating to appliances water efficiency level, similar to the way in which energy efficiency labels currently work.
Almost three-quarters of consultation respondents (74%) agreed that the proposal will help to reduce water consumption by 2038.
Based on 2019 prices, projections made by the Energy Saving Trust state that the label could help save £125 million on water bills and £147 million on energy bills over 10 years.
The Energy Saving Trust also estimates that the labels could save 1,200 million litres of water a day across the UK.
Water minister Rebecca Pow said: “Labels are a simple and effective way to help the public save water when buying their next dishwasher or washing machine. Providing people with the information to make an informed choice means not only less water being wasted but also keeping bills lower too.
“With demand for water growing and challenges from climate change, this government is acting to make sure England’s water system is resilient – and through our Plan for Water we’ve set out how more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement will help secure water resources for the future.”
The government said it will now “engage with industry on further details, such as how each category will be defined and the visual design of the label”.
The UK has set an ambitious target to reduce the use of public water supply per person by 20% by 2038. The target was set in response to the Environment Agency’s review of draft Regional Water Resource Plans which found an additional 4,000 million litres of water a day will be needed in England by 2050 to meet future supply pressures.
Despite the need to use less water, all water companies fell short of their targets to reduce consumption in Ofwat’s annual assessment released earlier this week.