Saving water and the environment with a smart water meter

Norwich is the focus of a campaign to encourage consumers to use less water, to help protect the environment as well as save on water bills.

The current phase of Anglian Water’s ‘Love Every Drop’ campaign is aimed at encouraging householders and businesses in the city to get water meters, if they don’t already have one. Existing meters are being upgraded and new meters are being offered to customers who don’t already have one.

Anglian Water serves communities and businesses across the region – about 4.3 million people all told - and local charity Community Action Norfolk (CAN) is helping spread the word that ‘less rain, more people’ puts ever greater strain on water supplies in an already ‘water-stressed’ area. Water resources are under pressure from population growth and climate change. By 2045 our region will be in water shortage crisis if water usage isn’t managed more efficiently.

East Anglia is one of the driest regions of the UK, receiving about one-third less rainfall than the average for the rest of England. The area actually gets less rain than some areas of Spain. 

CAN’s interim chief executive Rik Martin explains: “We’ve worked with Anglian Water on a number of water-saving campaigns. Our own mission is very much about helping make Norfolk’s communities positive, vibrant, friendly and sustainable places in which to live and work.

‘Sustainable’ is a key word here for, as we see the county’s population increasing, and the effects of climate change, we all need to think about our impact on the environment and how we use increasingly scarce resources. And water is one of those scarce resources.”

Around 90 per-cent of Anglian Water domestic customers already have a water meter installed. On average, each person uses about 136 litres a day – and COVID-related stay-at-home usage has seen daily demand increase by 20 per-cent. The aim is to reduce that to 128 litres a day by 2025.

“It’s not compulsory to have a water meter” says Rik “but it’s a great way of saving water usage and contributing to a better environment.”

Most existing meters are external so Anglian Water engineers don’t need access inside a customer’s property. The upgraded meters will provide customers with hourly and daily water usage data, will show how they are using water in their homes and gardens, and how they can maximise on saving water and money.

You can find more about smart water meters here.