Got an idea to reduce personal water consumption?

The government is proposing to introduce a personal target for water use

The government is seeking new ideas from consumers and industry to help reduce personal water consumption in Britain.

It is part of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ (Defra) plans to encourage customers to save water in their everyday lives and to introduce a personal water consumption target.

It has launched a consultation – open until 11th October – which will look at measures on how to achieve the non-binding target and includes exploratory questions around the labelling of water-using products, how building standards can be improved, the future role of metering and the implementation of behaviour change campaigns.

On average, a person in England currently uses 141 litres of water per day and consumption figures over the last few years have begun to increase.

If this trend continues, England could see significant water deficits by 2050.

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said: “We take our supply of clean water for granted and to keep doing that, given the growing population and impact of climate change, we need to challenge ourselves more on how much water we actually need to use.

“While water companies must lead the way in reducing leakage, using water efficiently will help ensure we all have enough water for our homes, to produce food, products and services, and to protect our valuable natural environment for the next generation.

“This call for evidence will help us set an ambitious target for personal water consumption.”

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