Driving water efficiency
February 15th 2007 As I write,my hope is this winter will bring the rain that drought-affected south-east England so desperately needs. Despite the recent wet weather, some southern water companies still have hosepipe and sprinkler bans in place following two previous winters of below average rainfall in the region.
But while more rain may help to replenish depleted groundwater levels in the south, it will not solve the area’s long-term water problems. Here, decades of development priorities have put significant pressure on resources and the existing infrastructure and the environment are struggling to cope.
Population increase, a growing demand for water and the impacts of climate change such as longer, hotter summers, however, will ensure pressure on water resources will intensify into all our futures, wherever we live. So what does this mean? The answer is simple – we have to make better use of what water there is and it is the Environment Agency’s job to make sure this happens.
We are responsible for managing water resources across England and Wales and ensuring there is enough H?0 available for both society’s and the environment’s needs. To help us meet this challenge we strive to educate and encourage everyone – from businesses to busy hospitals and schools - to save water through our biannual Water Efficiency Awards.
Whatever happens, our aim is to ensure these requirements will not be unduly onerous for licence holders. There are also benefits for licence holders, as well as the environment, from ensuring efficiency. For example, opportunities for short-term trades of water rights during the remaining lifetime of the abstraction licence may be generated, provided the water can be used elsewhere without detriment to the natural world and other users.
Efficient use of water can be described as using the right amount of water in the right place at the right time and we also seek to achieve this through the proper management of water resources. We allocate, for example, access to water resources by granting abstraction licences.
In fact, a major way we are driving water efficiency is through the water abstraction licensing process. Generally, anyone wanting to remove more than 20 cubic metres -approximately 4,400 gallons - of water a day from a river, stream, canal or underground source, will need to come to us to obtain an abstraction licence. Licences specify where you can take water from and how much and what you can use the water for. Without this process, we would have unregulated abstraction, which can lead to water supply shortages, increased river pollution by reducing dilution, damage to wildlife habitats and ultimately the loss of rivers for tomorrow’s generations to use and enjoy.
Our Catchment Abstraction Management Strategies (CAMS) outline the licensing policy for each catchment in England and Wales. Using this framework, we now time limit all new abstraction licences which will help us to flexibly manage water resources and cope better with the uncertainties of climate change.
Time limits, usually of 12 years, have regularly been applied to licences in some parts of the country since the 1980s, but the Water Act 2003 (the Act) requires us to apply them to all new abstraction licences granted after April 2004.
When the time comes for licences to be renewed, licence holders must satisfy us that they still need the water and that they have been using it efficiently. We also re-assess whether the licence continues to be environmentally sustainable.
However, in response to the legal changes introduced by the Act, we are busy working with the Government and existing licence holders to update our time limiting policy.This includes the requirement for water efficiency to be demonstrated at renewal.
We consulted on our proposals earlier this year and Driving water efficiency By Ian Barker, Environment Agency’s head of Water resources outlined our expectation of how the requirement could be met. Under these proposals, the level of proof of efficient use of water that we would require from the abstractor would vary according to the risk posed to the environment. Options that we have consulted on, and are continuing to investigate, range from using benchmark data to check an abstractor’s performance relative to others in their sector, to requiring full water audits.
Water rights trading, the transfer of licensed water rights from one person to another, either temporarily or permanently, has been possible for the past five years. However, the Water Resources Regulations 2006 has simplified the process that we administer, so trades can now take place more quickly.
As well as driving water efficiency via abstraction licensing,we also work to promote innovative and costeffective ways to save water through our Water Efficiency Awards.
For 2007’s awards,we have joined forces with Envirowise, the National Farmers’Union, Sustain magazine, the Royal Town Planning Institute and water regulator Ofwat, the Department for Education and Skills and the Welsh Assembly Government to recognise and reward UK organisations across the public, private and voluntary sector that have cut water consumption and their water bills.
Entries for the seven categories, ranging from Inspiring Change to Economic Research and Innovation, closed at the end of August, and by the time you read this an impressive shortlist of 32 finalists will have been announced. In fact, we will be just a few weeks away from revealing the winners, plus the recipient of the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairssponsored overall Outstanding Contribution to Water Conservation prize, at an awards ceremony hosted by our Chairman Sir John Harman at the Energy Clinic, in central London, on Tuesday 6 March.
The event will also feature keynote speakers including Jonathan Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future and Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, as well as an opportunity for discussion.
As in previous years,we hope 2007’s award-winners will help motivate others to save water. Gusto Homes, for instance,won two awards in 2003 - including the overall accolade - for incorporating an automatic rainwater harvesting system that reduced water-use by 50% into its Millennium Green Project, a mixed development of homes and office space.
Gusto’s ‘Freerain’ system proved so successful that it is now being sold by the Nottinghamshire company to other developers and has since been adapted for integration with a sustainable urban drainage system.
The diversity of entries for this year’s honours, including a hotel, a printing company, a brewery and a car manufacturer, indicates that water efficiency is increasingly recognised as beneficial for business as well as good for the environment.
But there is still work to do. Businesses use an average 8,000 million litres of water every day and many could cut their costs by as much as 30% by implementing simple measures, such as installing water-efficient fixtures and fittings. Household demand is also predicted to rise by 12% by 2030.
Clearly, the need for water-efficient role models has never been more important in the history of the awards. It is time to stop taking water for granted and to acknowledge it is a finite, extremely precious resource.
For more information on abstraction licensing or the Water Efficiency Awards, visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk or email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk More articles from Environment Agency: | 
