Public and industry must rethink future water use

University of Surrey experts say the industry must help the public change their habits to avoid future shortages

Customers and the water industry must work together to reduce water use, an academic study has found.

Experts from the University of Surrey's Institute for Sustainability have been working with more than 100 professionals, including some from nine UK water companies.

The university's report said companies should do more to understand how their customers use water, before helping them change their habits to help conserve supplies.

It also said installing more smart meters and fixing leaks would not be enough, with England projected to face a daily shortfall of five billion litres by 2055.

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Prof Benjamin Gardner, lead author of the report and professor of psychology at the University of Surrey, said: "Most people don't know how much water they use.

"The sector has focused on smart meters, which will raise awareness of water use – but smart meters alone won't cut it.

"The real challenge is in helping people to better recognise and understand how they use water and supporting them to continue doing their everyday activities, but in a more water-wise way.

"To do that, the sector needs to make better use of behavioural science."

'The human factor'

It suggests focussing on issues such as fixing leaks in their homes, taking shorter showers and not flushing toilets so often, and says the water industry should focus on technology to work alongside these changes.

Nicci Russell from Waterwise, a non-profit organisation which promotes water efficiency that took part in the study, said: "Research into behaviour helps us design smarter policies, technologies and communications that support people to use water more wisely.

"We can't afford to ignore the human factor. Water efficiency isn't just about infrastructure - it's about people, choices, habits, and values."