Set against the backdrop of making sure there is enough water available to both protect and enhance the natural environment while also serving an increasing population, this incentive involves customers playing their part in ensuring there is enough water for all in the future.
By 2025, we are targeting a reduction in the average amount of water used by each of our customers from 146.2 litres per day in 2019/20 to 134.5 litres per day. This is equivalent to our Ofwat target for per capita consumption (PCC) of reducing consumption by 7.6 per cent from our 2019/20 three-year average baseline of 147.05 litres per day.
Our original WRMP19 target for 2023/24 was to achieve a reduction of 5.8 per cent from our 2019/20 three-year average baseline of 147.05 litres per day, equivalent to a PCC of 138.5 litres per day. Based on our outturn PCC for 2023-24 our three-year average PCC is 150.8 litres per day equivalent to a 2.6 per cent increase. Since setting these targets a series of factors, including fewer people commuting out of our supply area during the working day, have impacted the way that water is used across our supply area in recent years causing an increase in water usage.
How have we performed?
During 2024/25 the average use was 143.4 litres of water per day.
Our three-year average for 2024/25 was 145.7 litres of water per day which results in a one per cent reduction from our baseline number.
We continue to use our partnership and community campaigns to help our customers save water. During 2024/25 these included: our ongoing partnership with East Grinstead Town Council, where we attended numerous events in their area to promote water efficiency; our water butt giveaway with Ashford Borough Council to their most vulnerable customers; and a door drop of over 180,000 leaflets promoting water efficiency practices with East Sussex County Council. Our Community Partnership Leads have been attending events around our supply area, providing water efficiency advice to our customers and giving away free water saving devices.
In addition to this, we have also surpassed our target to distribute 130,000 free water-saving devices to customers. By year end, we had sent out 198,555 devices, including leaky loo detection strips and water-saving shower heads.
We are continuing our efforts to reduce per capita consumption during 2025/26 with our ongoing Household Customer Improvement Programme. This programme encompasses five key approaches to delivering our challenging PCC reduction, primarily through behavioural change methods and direct intervention with our customers. Our 2025-26 programme includes:
Understanding our customers through research
- Revised customer segmentation to understand how best to communicate water efficiency messaging to individual customers
- Household behaviours
- Water usage behaviours
- Business customer need
- Usage and effectiveness of communication campaigns through different channels
Behavioural change messaging campaigns
- Access to our Neighbours Usage Comparison Report for non-digital users
- Trialling incentivisation and gamification
- Expanding our children’s education programme to include digital resource and providing talks to children through school assemblies and other groups
- Promote water saving devices and our household water efficiency visits through our newsletter, and using bill imagery to provide water saving tips
- Using our newly developed water efficiency game at events to get customers to understand their direct and indirect water usage
Partnerships
- Expanding our community partnerships with local councils or similar stakeholders
- Community partnership events throughout our regions
- Utilising existing Vulnerability partnerships to help those most in need with reducing their water usage
Water efficiency devices
- Continued provision of free water efficiency devices to customers
- Expanding our range of water efficiency devices, including colour change shower heads
- Installing water efficiency devices through our household water efficiency visits
Household Water Efficiency Visits
- Visiting our customers’ homes and providing water efficiency advice, fixing internal leaks and installing water efficiency devices
- Tailored visits and advice for business customer
s
