Government launches campaign to reduce water usage
The UK government has launched a campaign to encourage water conservation, citing warnings of future shortages due to climate change and population growth.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The UK government has launched a campaign to encourage water conservation, backed by a new £75 million push from the water industry and regulators. The four-year initiative, called 'Let's Save Water', aims to get households to use less water, for example by taking shorter showers. It comes after last week's record June temperatures and red extreme heat warnings, which led to a surge in demand for tap water. With predictions of longer, hotter, and more frequent heatwaves in coming years, officials are warning that water must be seen as an increasingly precious resource.
The campaign is funded by water companies, meaning it is ultimately paid for by customers through their bills. The launch follows a severe drought last year: by May 2022, a dry hot spring had left reservoirs like one near Rochdale incredibly low, and by the end of the summer the water shortage was declared a nationally significant incident. According to the Environment Agency, within three decades England will face a daily shortage of 5 billion litres of water, enough to fill more than 20 million wheelie bins.
However, the campaign has drawn criticism because water companies lose nearly 3 billion litres of water every day through leaks. The chief executive of Ofwat, the water regulator, said people need to see what they are getting for their money, and noted that water companies are investing record amounts to cut leakage, install smart meters, and build new reservoirs. But even if all leaks were fixed and new reservoirs built, the regulator argued that water savings would still be needed.
The launch also comes after record increases to water bills, and amid ongoing criticism of the water industry over sewage discharges, profits, dividends, and bonuses. In a major policy speech, Labour's Andy Burnham gave his clearest signal yet that if he becomes prime minister he would change the way the water industry is run. He called for a 10-year plan with more public control and ownership, but stopped short of full renationalisation, saying that would be complicated and expensive. Instead, he suggested different approaches for different parts of the country, moving away from the profit-driven monopolies created in the 1980s.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 4 |
|---|---|
| The Environment Agency warned England will face a 5 billion litre daily water shortage within three decades. | |
| Water companies lose nearly 3 billion litres of water a day through leaks. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Channel 4 focused on the launch of the £75 million 'Let's Save Water' campaign, but heavily contextualised it with criticism of the water industry. The report highlighted the contradiction of asking customers to pay more through bills while water companies lose billions of litres to leaks, and it gave significant airtime to Labour's Andy Burnham calling for reform of the industry. The tone was sceptical, framing the campaign as having 'tricky optics' given rising bills and industry scandals.
- “People need to see what they're getting for their money.”
- “But we also have to do hard.”
- “We're in a situation where the shareholders can never lose and the bill payers can never win because all the pressure is falling on the bill payers. That's why we need such a reform.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.