UK Water - Center for Sustainability & Commerce

UK Water Lead Researchers:
Geography:
Data date range:
Sources Covered:
Sector Users Covered:
Jimena Villegas and Kristina Östman
England and Wales
1990-2005
Water
Industry, Agriculture, Energy, Commercial, Residential
Summary
The annual water abstractions per sector in England and Wales were reviewed for the years 1990, 2000
and 2008. The sectors analyzed were classified as industrial, electricity and gas, agricultural, commercial
or residential uses, where the water consumption volumes, as well as participation of consumption were
reported in mega liters per year and percentages, respectively. In addition to each sectors’ water
consumption, the residential classification also contains information on households’ water use based on
different studies carried out in England over the last two decades. Similarly, the water used per kWh
generated by the energy and gas sector was estimated using the energy generation information from the
UK energy report. The data presented is fully based on acclaimed government sources and organizations.
The data evidences a general reduction of water abstraction in England and Wales along the three years
starting with an annual consumption of 17,193,300 ML in 1990 to 12,659,660 ML in 2008 (Figure 1).
Between the years 1990 and 2000 a reduction of 13% was found, while from 2000 to 2008 a reduction of
15% was achieved. The agricultural sector, including fish farming and different activities from agriculture
such as spray irrigation, is the one presenting larger decreases, of about 40% in each period. The
industrial sector, which covers manufacturing and also mineral washing, presented a reduction of about
30% in both decades. Residential, representing households and the commercial sector showed a similar
reduction of water consumption of 7% during the first decade and 5% in the second. In contrast, the
energy and gas sector augmented the water abstraction in the year 2000 which can be due to increases in
energy generated by nuclear power during that decade (World Economic Forum, 2009).
The reductions observed in year 2000 and 2008 can be related to government initiatives taken after the
drought of 1995 with the objective of improving the water industry, which was privatized in England and
Wales in 1989. Those initiatives can be found as amendments made to the Water Industry Act 1991,
where the water companies are required to reduce leakages in the supply system as well as to establish a
water efficiency plan with the aim of promoting the efficient use of water by customers (Burtler and Ali
Memon, 2006).
The largest water user is the energy and gas sector with an average participation of 32% which can be
related to the fact that about 87% of the UK energy mix is based on natural gas, coal and nuclear power
plants. The UK average water use per kWh generated in 2008 was 12.29 l/kWh, excluding electricity
imports. The agricultural sector had an important share in 1990, however the residential and commercial
sector are today the second largest water consumers with about 25% and 20% of share in 2008.
The average consumption of water per household in England and Wales has also decreased from 1990 to
2008, from 0.17 to 0.14 ML per household per year respectively, even when the number of households
has increased with time. A household’s water usage is based mainly indoors, leaving about 5% of water
use to outdoors activities, such as garden care related. The data sources found with information related to
water uses in household show that on average 60% of indoor water is employed for personal use such as
WC, basins and showers. Other water uses, such as clothes washing, dishwashing and miscellaneous,
present different shares between the three years. It is not possible to make a comparison on the household
water uses trends as the three studies did not base their analysis on the same water uses (Figure 2, 3 and
4).
To conclude, Figure 5 shows the results from a study on water use in industrial and commercial sector in
2008. This research demonstrates that the main water consuming sectors are electricity and gas
production to fill up a third of consumption, which is then followed by agriculture, fish farming, metal
manufacturing industry and wholesale, and hotels and catering.
Gap Analysis and Future Research
An initial gap in the data can be recognized as this only covers England and Wales. As countries within
the UK work independently, there is neither the same quality of information and research for the different
regions, nor the same priorities on data gathering for each of the governments.
Apart from this initial gap, there is a lack of recent studies on household water uses. First, the sources
found in this research are based on years prior to 2000 when the governments were starting to call for
more water efficient practices by water companies and consumers. Second, research has focused on
England and Wales’s behavior, without including other regions in UK. In conclusion, a more recent study
on water use in households would give insights into the impact of new appliances and standards at homes,
peoples’ behaviors, and a better understanding of areas for investigation in order to understand the ways
in which households use this resource.
Data Sources
References
Key Facts about: Inland Water Quality and Use, Abstractions from non-tidal surface water and
groundwater, by use: 1971-2007
http://www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/environment/inlwater/kf/iwkf12.htm.
Estimated abstractions from all sources (except tidal) by purpose and Environment Agency region: 19952008, England & Wales
http://www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/environment/inlwater/iwabstraction.htm.
Water Uses 2008 was taken from Waterwise, UK. At Home - Indoors
http://www.waterwise.org.uk/reducing_water_
wastage_in_the_uk/house_and_garden/save_water_at_home.html.
Water Uses for 2000 were taken from Post Note 135. “Water Efficiency in the Home,” Figure 2.
Domestic water consumption averaged over one year. From survey carried out from 1993–1998.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/ publications/research/post/publications-by-year/pubs2000/.
Water uses for 1990 were taken from Downing, T.E, R.E. Butterfield, B. Edmonds, et al. 2003. “Climate
Change and the Demand for Water,” Research Report, Stockholm Environment Institute Oxford
Office, Oxford. Pag 30. Table 3.1. Year 1991. http://cfpm.org/cpmrep107.html.
DEFRA. 2008. “Future Water: The Government’s Water Strategy for England.” Pag 19. Household Use
52%, the rest is attributed to commercial use.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/water/strategy/pdf/future-water.pdf.
Electricity and gas production for 1990 and 2000 Scotland are the same, taken the value from 2000,
retrieved from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2001/12/10499/File-1.
Electricity and gas production for 2008 Scotland is taken from the value of 2003, retrieved from
http://www.scot-
tishwater.co.uk/portal/page/portal/SWE_PGP_PUBLICATIONS/SWE_PGE_PUBLICATIONS/SWE_
PUB_KEYPUB/Water%20Resources%20Survey%20Report%202003-20042.pdf.
Envirowise: A Review of Water Use in Industry and Commerce: A Summary Report. 2009.
http://envirowise.wrap.
org.uk/publications.aspx?o=344388&c=163383&l=1&p=9&af=00000000000001000000000000002000.