Statement: Ambitious action on leakage is long overdue

The Consumer Council for Water says ambitious action to reduce the amount of water lost through leaky pipes is long overdue after new figures revealed eight water companies missed their leakage targets in 2017/18.

New data now available on Discover Water opens in new window shows the industry as a whole lost more than 3.1 billion litres of water a day last year –  an increase of almost two per cent.

Eight water companies failed to meet their regulatory leakage targets, including Severn Trent Water, Yorkshire Water, Bristol Water, Hafren Dwfrdwy, Essex and Suffolk Water, Cambridge and South Staffs Water, Thames Water and Portsmouth Water.

Responding to the new figures, Tony Smith, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Ambitious action to reduce leakage is long overdue and the recent failure of some water companies to hit their undemanding targets suggests they haven’t grasped how important this issue is to customers.”

“If the industry wants customers to get serious about using water wisely, companies need to get serious about reducing leakage in the short and long term. We’ll continue to applaud companies that show the kind of ambition we want to see but call out those that fall short of customers’ expectations.”