Water firms slammed over leakages
Water firms slammed over leakages
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Wednesday, 29, Mar 2006 12:17
The volume of water lost to leakages by UK water firms every day is equivalent to the amount which cascades over the mighty Niagara Falls every 45 minutes, a new study has warned.
According to price comparison website uSwitch.com, water companies lose 3.6 billion litres of water a day as a result of leaks.
Yet despite this extreme wastage, water providers across the UK are poised to raise their bills by an average of 5.5 per cent from April 1st, pushing costs up to a 17-year high.
Tim Wolfenden, senior product manager at uSwitch.com, believes that while reservoir levels are dangerously low, many firms should look to improve their own efficiency first, rather than shift the cost for their failings on to the consumer.
"While [price increases] may be good news for shareholders, who can look forward to an increase in last year's industry profits of £2 billion, consumers will have every right to feel aggrieved, particularly when they realise that the two most profitable companies in 2004-05 (United Utilities and Thames Water) were also the only two companies who failed to meet their leakage targets," Mr Wolfenden said.
He pointed out that homeowners in the south-east had most right to feel hard done by over the latest price increases.
"The area is in the grip of one of the most serious droughts to affect the region in the last 100 years and yet the seven water companies that have imposed restrictions on over six million customers were responsible for losing over 1.25 billion litres of water a day last year due to their failure to control leakages," Mr Wolfenden added.
According to the water regulator Ofwat, last year Thames Water lost 915 million litres a day to leakages, while United Utilities was the second-worst in terms of wastage, losing 500 million litres a day.
Both companies have announced above-inflation price increases from next month, while Thames has imposed a blanket hosepipe and sprinkler ban from April 3rd.
Despite criticism over wastage, water firms have insisted that the price increases, which uSwitch claims will add an extra £294 million to household bills, are necessary following two successive years of below-average rainfall in many regions.
Jeremy Pelczer, chief executive of Thames Water, also insisted that his firm was doing all it could to tackle leakages.
"We are doing everything we can to increase supplies and save water ourselves. We remain absolutely committed to reducing leakage as rapidly as possible, and are spending more than £500,000 per day on this essential task," Mr Pelczer said.
"We have already renewed 250 miles of pipework, which is starting to make real leakage savings."