Manufacturers should take action to prepare for higher water bills

Phil Black - PII Editor 12/02/2013

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Business water bills are expected to rise following an announcement by UK water regulator Ofwat that household bills will increase by an average 3.5% from April 2013. The impact will be felt especially sharply by manufacturing businesses using water intense processes.

Apart from South West Water, which is reducing bills by 7.3%, all water companies are increasing their charges, with Bristol Water Company imposing the biggest price rise of 6.3%.

Ofwat says that the additional money is required for £25 billion of new investment in the water network.

“It is inevitable that business tariffs will also increase”, said Cedric Rodrigues, Managing Director of CMR Consultants www.cmrgroup.co.uk ” It is important that manufacturers review their water costs and reduce consumption now – to counter the impact of the anticipated jump in prices and the likelihood of continuing year-on-year increases.”

The water consultancy forecasts that by 2016, business water bills will be 50% higher than they were in 2008. This is based on an assumption that the average price increases of the past five years will continue and that inflation will rise after 2015.

Rodrigues continued: “Because business customers in England and Wales currently have little choice of water supplier, many feel powerless to reduce costs. But savings can be made on all aspects of the charges raised, which include areas such as water use efficiency, reduction of costs for wastewater and surface water discharges, environmental impact reduction and correction of billing errors.”

To reduce water bills, CMR Consultants recommends a three step approach that can achieve typical savings of 20% to 30% or more.

Stage 1 – Tariff review & optimisation
·         Monitor water costs carefully to improve efficiency and be sure you are paying the correct level of charges.
·         Examine previous water bills and check for overcharges.
·         Check your meter is the right size to optimise efficiency and costs.

Stage 2 – Water efficiency audit to identify immediate opportunities to reduce usage
·         Check for leaks across your site.
·         Identify ways to recycle water where possible, for example collecting and reusing rainwater.

Stage 3 – Investment in technologies to minimise future increases
·         Pre-treat trade effluent discharge before it goes into the sewer.
·         Install water reduction savings devices and more efficient equipment.
·         Use natural groundwater sources, for example boreholes.

CMR Consultants is a leading energy, carbon and water consultancy. The company works with businesses to improve water efficiency and reduce costs, having delivered thousands of pounds worth of savings using a fee or performance based approach. .

CMR Consultants” water cost auditing service highlights and rectifies historic overcharges and billing errors. The company can also provide specialist consultancy to reduce water consumption, such as advising on water management and leak detection, as well as sundry items such as surface water drainage, meter sizes and environmental compliance.

Further information: www.cmrgroup.co.uk