The National Infrastructure Commission has reiterated its call for the Government to set a target for the water industry to halve leakages by 2050.
The Commission was responding to the Manifesto for Water published by Water UK, the body which represents all the UK water companies, following last week’s publication of the water companies business plans proposing a £50 billion+ investment programme for 2020 to 2025.2020 and 2025, with the aim of cutting bills, improving water quality and reducing leakages.
The Manifesto for Water outlined plans to cut bills by more than four per cent in real terms across England, and cut leakages by more than 16 per cent.
The National Infrastructure Assessment, published in July, included proposals for the Government to set a target for the water industry to halve leakages by 2050.
The Assessment also urged Ministers to enable companies to implement compulsory metering by the 2030s beyond water-stressed areas, and for companies to consider the systematic roll-out of smart meters as a key step to improving water efficiency.
Responding to the Manifesto, a National Infrastructure Commission spokesman said:
“With as much as 20 per cent of mains water lost to leakages every day, it is encouraging to see water companies setting out five-year plans to tackle this issue.
“However, the threat of hosepipe bans this summer showed the need to shore up water supplies, and so we want to see companies look even further ahead, with a clear target to halve leakages by 2050.
“That, combined with a new water transfer network to support areas suffering shortages, and measures to reduce demand, would greatly improve the resilience of our infrastructure for the future.”
Click here for details of the recommendations relating to water infrastructure set out in the UK’s first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment published by the Commission in July 2018.
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