Civil engineers call for universal water metering in Greater Manchester

The Institution of Civil Engineers North West

The Institution of Civil Engineers North West is calling for universal water metering of homes and businesses across Greater Manchester to safeguard future supply security in its ‘State of the Nation’ report into our region’s infrastructure released today (27 June).

ICE NW Regional Director Alan Butler says water is a fundamental building block of an advanced society – and consumers must change their perception of water from being a largely free resource to one that is vital to health, employment and the environment.
Alan Butler says linking water to other metered resources like gas and electricity will help bring about the required sea change in making it a fundamental part of the family budget.

“Regulators should introduce metering, complemented by social and discretionary tariffs. This will enable water and sewerage companies to monitor leakage more accurately, while providing stronger incentives for water conservation, without adversely impacting low income households,” said Mr Butler.

Metering is now extensive in some areas of the UK and provides an effective way to enable both water utility consumers to manage their use and for water companies to fully understand how water is being used.

Smart water bills, which provide customers with clearer information on the nature of their water use, should also be introduced. Universal metering will also enable water and sewerage Companies to monitor leakage more accurately and effectively.

ICE North West believes universal water metering is an important step toward ensuring future security of supply. This would involve the universal introduction of water meters in every household, complemented by discretionary and social tariffs which would ensure a fair payment regime and financially reward low usage.

The importance of real time data and actual abstraction figures should be recognised as they provide regulators with a better understanding of the nature of water use from all sectors.

ICE North West believes that new water resources, additional storage and more inter-company transfers will also have to be developed to close the long-term supply/demand imbalance in some regions, as part of an integrated strategy which includes demand management and selected areas of water reuse.

“Currently most UK households pay around a £1 per day for unlimited water, which requires a costly treatment process to make it drinkable. Long term use of expensive drinking water for activities like watering the garden is unsustainable.

“We are calling for a 30 per cent reduction of per capita consumption in homes – currently 150 litres per day – along with discretionary tariffs that reward low usage with prices rising as usage increases,” said Mr Butler.

ICE North West believes this would encourage a public shift in attitude towards solutions that can significantly reduce domestic water, such as recycling household water for non-drinking uses and rainwater harvesting for outside uses such as watering the garden.

Currently drinkable water is so affordable to most of the population there is little public appetite for recycling water in the home. Yet using ‘grey water’ to flush the toilet alone could reduce domestic water usage by a third.