Water efficiency We will continue to expand a number of successful schemes within our water efficiency programme up to 2025. These include: our schools education programme, which explains the value of water and responsible sewer use; helping customers repair internal plumbing leaks and providing water-efficiency advice through home visits; installing over 410,000 water meters, helping household customers reduce their consumption by approximately 10%; offering free and subsidised water-saving devices to customers; and finally, help for businesses, especially farmers, in recycling their grey water and building water resilience. We’ve already saved about c.25 million litres a day between 2015 and 2020, and we’re aiming to reduce each household’s consumption per head consumption by a further 3.5% by 2025. By 2030, we hope the majority of our customers will have a water meter, so they can be more active in understanding their water use. This year, the home efficiency programme described above had been impacted by lockdown restrictions. We carried out just under 12,000 virtual and physical home water efficiency checks. We also moved to focusing based on customer meter alarms. Compared to a non-targeted approach, these have saved an average of 1.6 to 2.6 times the amount of water per audit. Reducing water consumption To protect water sources for the future, we help customers use less water and so reduce the amount we need to supply. We aim to reduce the water each household customer uses (per capita consumption) by 3.5%, to 124.55 litres per person per day by 2025. Our long-term ambition is to reduce this to 118 litres per person per day by 2045. However, in 2020/21 almost every water company in the UK (and across Europe) has reported an increase in household water consumption – reflecting how the COVID-19 pandemic has increased concerns about hygiene, forced many into home-working and schooling, and placed more importance on gardens. To meet our commitments and ambitions, we’re focusing on three areas: 1. Changing customers’ behaviour – Our research shows customers significantly underestimate consumption, so we need to help them understand the value of water and how much they actually use. We’ll develop campaigns for different customer groups, showing how they can reduce their consumption. 2. Reducing leaks – Our metering installation programme is well underway to show customers how much water they use and also provide us with the data we need to help find leaks more efficiently. 3. Legislative and wider industry change – We’re working with the Government and other stakeholders to change the way we all value water. We also advocate for mandatory water labelling and minimum standards for building and water-fitting regulations. Our customers’ views Our customers expect water to flow from their taps regardless of the challenges we face, such as population growth, climate change, or increased demand. To understand the sharp increase in demand during the hot weather (and COVID-19 restrictions) in May and June 2020, we took the views of 2,000 customers. Gardening and recreational activities accounted for much of the increase. However, we discovered our hot weather communications were fairly effective, with a third of people recalling the messages and half of those reducing consumption. We also discovered that helping the environment, avoiding shortages or a hosepipe ban, and saving money, are all messages customers would respond to. Researching water-efficiency incentives for business customers Since the opening of the business water retail market in England in April 2017, around 1.2 million business customers have been able to choose their water services retailer. This is known as the Non-Household ('NHH') market, and Severn Trent acts as the wholesaler to the retailers. However, as the retailers are paid by volume, there is a lack of incentive for them to ask their customers to reduce water consumption. Following the hot, dry weather and first lock-down in spring 2020 we asked for ideas from retailers for how an incentive scheme might work. We will now test three approaches alongside each other from 1 May to 31 August 2021, as this is usually when we see the highest demand. We’ll be testing in geographical locations we know have more pressure on water resources. Here are some of the things we’re doing to abstract the water people need, when they need it – and from the right places – before cleaning it and returning it to our rivers, so maintaining a sustainable water cycle. Looking after the world around us Ensuring a sustainable water cycle Read more online World Water Innovation Fund Through the World Water Innovation Fund ('WWIF'), we work with 12 partners globally to explore new technologies and best practice in preserving water resources. The scheme has seven live trials, with many more planned.