Do people value water?

What does it even mean to value water? Knowing its financial worth? Using as much as you want because there’s obviously going to be enough for everyone? Using your fair share and leaving enough for others?

There is a dissociation between how much water individuals think they use and how much they actually use. A 2020 poll by Water UK found that 46% of people believed their household used under 20 litres of water per day (Water UK, 2020). The current average is ~146 litres per person per day.

Research found that despite being aware that the country experiences water scarcity, the public do not associate lifestyle habits, everyday water usage practices, and the configuration of water systems in households with the wider problem of water scarcity within the UK (Ajia et al. 2023). Similarly, Waterwise (2009) found that whilst 76% of people were concerned about water availability in the UK, only 30% were actively reducing their usage. This lack of understanding as to why water conservation is needed means that there is little guilt felt about doing either nothing or the bare minimum. Despite this, the presence of pro-environmentalist attitudes is not a prerequisite for water conserving behaviours (Waterwise, 2021). These gaps between value and attitude have been attributed to:

• a lack of knowledge/understanding as to why individuals should save water,

• the perception of an abundance of water,

• the perception of water as a product,

• the relatively low cost of water,

• the difficulty of changing habits,

• the assumption that individual actions can’t make a difference,

• ongoing perceptions of water company mismanagement,

• the lack of social repercussions due to the majority of water use taking place in private, and

• personal circumstances which make behaviour change difficult or undesirable (e.g. wellbeing/comfort).

A study by Eon et al. (2018) provided a regular breakdown of water use to households over a 2-year period, including shower length. Despite knowing their water usage, half of the households did not reduce their shower length. This was attributed to participants attaching comfort and relaxation to showering, with a reduction in shower length posing what is perceived as an unwanted lifestyle change.

A common argument given by consumers is that as water companies don’t seemingly value water, why should they (CCW, 2022)? They wouldn’t have to reduce their consumption if the water company hadn’t lost 20% of its potable water through leakage. That reducing personal consumption will have minimal impact when you compare it to the large amounts lost through leakage. In reality, demand management will play a pivotal role in increasing supply resilience.

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) reported that to maintain current resilience, an additional 4,000 million litres per day of capacity is required by 2050 (NIC, 2018), split equally between building new infrastructure, leakage reduction, and demand management.

Just as there are unreasonably high levels of leakage, there are unreasonably high levels of consumption. This is highlighted by the disparity between metered and unmetered average usage in England and Wales, which is 126 litres per person per day for metered properties and 177 litres per person per day for unmetered properties (Discover Water, 2024). In contrast, Denmark uses just over 100 litres per person per day (Eureau, 2021). Similarly, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands all have average leakage below 10%, whilst the UK is just over 20%.

Whilst there is a drive to reduce leakage and consumption, economic and social factors will make it difficult to achieve these reductions. Lower levels of leakage will be expensive and labour intensive to achieve and then maintain, whilst reducing consumption would be expensive to consumers and potentially unhygienic. Both of these factors should not be expected of water companies or consumers. The current aim is for ~10% leakage and 110 litres per person per day by 2050, which appears to be viable when comparing to the top performers in Europe. Increasing metering will help drive some of the reduction, as indicated by the 40 litres per person per day difference between metered and unmetered households. But to go beyond this a mix of water efficient fixtures and appliances, and education and behaviour change will be required.

There is a legal obligation on water companies to drive water efficiency, including demand management, but is this viable when consumers seemingly don’t trust them? A study by CCW (2024) found that only 23% of respondents trusted water companies to ‘do what’s right for the environment’. Whilst water companies do have the credibility to highlight where consumer behaviour has a negative impact on water company operations, consumers are less willing to act when they’re being asked to behave differently due to water company inefficiency (CCW, 2023a). Therefore, communicating that a national effort is required, including what the water companies are doing and how consumers can support is crucial.

Money saving potential is the greatest motivator to change consumption habits (CCW, 2023a). Additionally, providing statistics, such as average water use in an area, helps contextualise water usage, bridging the knowledge gap and driving motivation to change. Providing information on how to save water and check for leaks gives consumers the knowledge they need to change their water use. This information works best when tailored to specific groups e.g. gardeners, and should not assume existing knowledge on the subject (CCW, 2023b). Messages should also come from a variety of sources, including water companies, government, local organisations and relevant influencers (such as gardeners and self-care) to reach a greater variety of people.

A combined effort from water companies and the public is required to tackle long term water sustainability, including more proactive leakage control and reduction, as well as behavioural change. The water industry needs its ‘David Attenborough’ moment to engage the public and understand their impact on water supply, similar to what Blue Planet has done for single use plastics. In my opinion, this has already started with respect to water company actions, but still needs to happen for consumers to understand their role.

References:

• Ajia et al. (2023). What’s next for water efficiency engagement? Listening to UK public and water managers, IoW Journal, Issue 8. Available at: https://database.waterwise.org.uk/wp-content/uploa...;
• CCW (2022). Bridging the gap: Awareness and Understanding of Water Issues. [Online] Available at: https://www.ccw.org.uk/publication/bridging-the-gap-awareness-and-understanding-of-water-issues/
• CCW (2023a). Consistent Messaging. [Online] Available at: https://www.ccw.org.uk/publication/consistent-messaging/
• CCW (2023b). Citizens Forum: Customers’ views on water campaigns. [Online] Available at: https://www.ccw.org.uk/publication/citizens-forum-customers-views-on-water-campaigns/
• CCW (2024). Customer Spotlight: People’s views and experiences of water 2024. [Online] Available at: https://www.ccw.org.uk/publication/customer-spotli...;
• Discover Water (2024). The amount we use. [Online] Available at: https://www.discoverwater.co.uk/amount-we-use
• Eon, C., Liu, X., Morrison, G M., & Byrne, J. (2018). Influencing energy and water use within a home system of practice. [Online] Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378778817329882
• Eureau (2021). Europe’s Water in Figures: An overview of the European drinking water and waste water sectors. [Online] Available at: https://www.eureau.org/resources/publications/eureau-publications/5824-europe-s-water-in-figures-2021/file
• NIC (2018). Preparing for a drier future. Available at: https://nic.org.uk/app/uploads/NIC-Preparing-for-a-Drier-Future-26-April-2018.pdf
• Water UK (2020). Vast majority of Brits have no idea how much water they use each day. Available at: https://www.water.org.uk/news-views-publications/news/vast-majority-brits-have-no-idea-how-much-water-they-are-using
• Waterwise (2009). Public Understanding of Sustainable Water Use in the Home. Available at: https://database.waterwise.org.uk/knowledge-base/p...;
• Waterwise (2021). Literature Review: Learnings from previous pro-water campaigns, interventions and studies. [Online] Available at: https://database.waterwise.org.uk/knowledge-base/literature-review-learnings-from-previous-pro-water-campaigns-interventions-and-studies-2021/