The Institution of Civil Engineers North West is calling for the huge economic and social value of water to be properly recognised by society in its ‘State of the Nation’ report released today.
ICE NW Regional Director Alan Butler says water is a fundamental building block of an advanced society – and consumers must change their perception of water from being a largely free resource to one that is vital to health, employment and the environment.
”The single biggest problem is the low value we place on water. It’s currently much undervalued and provided to most of us without limit. The United Nations rightly states water for health and hygiene is a human right and should be affordable to the whole of society. But this makes up less than 15 per cent of our direct water use. Everything else is discretionary and should be charged as such,” said Mr Butler.
This would also encourage a public shift in attitude towards solutions that can significantly reduce domestic water, such as recycling household water for non-drinking uses and rainwater harvesting for outside uses such as watering the garden. Currently drinkable water is so affordable to most of the population there is little public appetite for recycling water in the home. Yet using ‘grey water’ to flush the toilet alone could reduce domestic water usage by a third.
ICE North West is advocating the universal introduction of water meters in every household, complemented by discretionary and social tariffs which would ensure a fair payment regime and financially reward low usage.
Alan Butler says linking water to other metered resources like gas and electricity will help bring about the required sea change in making it a fundamental part of the family budget.
“Currently most UK households pay only a £1 per day for unlimited water, which requires a costly treatment process to make it drinkable. Long term use of expensive drinking water for activities like watering the garden is unsustainable. We are calling for a 30 per cent reduction of per capita consumption in homes – currently 150 litres per day – along with discretionary tariffs that reward low usage with prices rising as usage increases,” said Mr Butler.
ICE NW is also calling for greater efficiency within water industry planning, through changes in current five year asset management cycles. Alan Butler says Government now recognises the damage the stop-start spending cycle has caused.
“HM Treasury’s first annual progress report on the Infrastructure Cost Review estimated the cost to industry and water customers nationally at between £3bn and £5bn since privatisation,” said Mr Butler.
“Asset Management Plan cycles have prioritised short term cost saving at the expense of long term investment in skills and training. There is a two year dip in spending around the change of AMP cycle which sees skilled people laid off every five years. The subsequent boom in demand for these same skilled people creates enormous pressures on wages as demand outstrips supply,” he added.
ICE NW believes the drive towards short term ‘efficiency’ stifles long-term investment in skills, relying on a ‘hire and fire’ culture. As this culture becomes embedded, it becomes more difficult to encourage young professionals to invest in the technical and less transferable skills upon which the industry relies.