Saturday, December 12, 2009

Pressures on water supplies make metering essential , says UK environment agency

Sam Bond in edie.net: Even notoriously wet and rainy England will face severe water shortages as it feels the bite of climate change and a growing population. This is the message of the Environment Agency as it backs calls for widespread water metering and water efficiency measures.

The agency has published its response to the independent review of water pricing and metering undertaken by Anna Walker. Unsurprisingly, the agency backs the report's position that most households and businesses should pay for water according to how much they use.

Households with a water meter use between 10 and 15 per cent less water than those without and businesses that pay for what they use also tend to be more thrifty with their water use. The UK is one of the few industrialised countries that have low levels of metering; currently only one third of households in England and Wales are metered.

An Environment Agency statement said: "Widespread water metering implemented by water companies, including safeguards to protect vulnerable groups, would provide a fairer charging system and is vital to help reduce water consumption and avert future severe shortages."…

A garden hose, shot by Nandhp, Wikimedia Commons, nder the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License

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