UK Water Authority accelerates smart water meters deployment
Ofwat, the UK’s Water Services Regulation Authority, is proposing an acceleration on the delivery of 31 investment schemes, among which included the installation of 462,000 smart water meters to improve drought resilience.
The total investment will be around £1.6 billion ($2 billion) with work beginning in the next two financial years, from 2023 to 2025.
The investments will deliver benefits in three areas:
- £400 million ($493 million) for water resilience schemes, including installation of 462,000 smart water meters and new water resource and water quality projects. In total these projects will deliver and protect 159Ml/d of water supply, helping to increase drought resilience.
- £1.1 billion ($1.4 billion) to improve over 250 storm overflows and reduce the annual average of spills by 10,000. This includes work to improve water quality at the bathing water site at Ilkley on the River Wharfe and significantly reduce spills into Lake Windermere.
- £160 million ($197.2 million) to help reduce nutrient pollution and support nutrient neutrality at 14 locations, protecting natural ecosystems while facilitating housing and economic development.
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In October 2022, Ofwat and Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) invited companies to propose schemes to accelerate investment in water resilience (supply and demand), storm overflows and nutrient neutrality.
According to Ofwat’s proposal, there is increasing pressure on drought resilience from climate change, population growth and abstraction reductions.
Dry summers, more frequent and intense rainfall, more variable river flows and biological changes in water bodies necessitate the acceleration of such projects. In England specifically, it is estimated that there is a 25% chance of the worst drought in recorded history within the next 30 years.
Early approval of the schemes, states Ofwat, will help the sector to gear up for a larger investment programme over the coming years and will help deliver benefits for customers and the environment sooner.
These are Ofwat’s draft decisions for consultation. All projects must be started before April 2025 and completed by 2030.
Ofwat also identified a further 37 schemes, totalling £376 million ($463.3 million) of investment in the 2023-25 period and £1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) overall, that companies can accelerate if they are included in final company environmental plans and address concerns that Ofwat has raised.
David Black, chief executive, of Ofwat, comments on the levels of investment that will be needed to address water system challenges in the UK, including “storm overflows, river and bathing water quality and drought resilience.”
Said Black: “We are pleased that we’ve been able to work with companies and identify significant investments which companies can start well before the next price control period…We want to see companies making more rapid progress in delivering improvements, and will hold them to account if they fall short.”
Water minister Rebecca Pow added: “These new schemes…build on the key commitments in our five-year strategy – our Environmental Improvement Plan – as well as our upcoming Plan for Water to tackle pollution, reduce water consumption and protect our waters”.
