Excellent 5* RatingBusiness Water Glossary
What is water efficiency (and how can it cut bills)?
Water efficiency is simply using less water to do the same job, and for a business it’s one of the most reliable ways to bring a water bill down for good. Every litre you don’t use is one you don’t pay to buy or to drain away.
Here’s what it involves and where the easy wins usually are.
What water efficiency means
Water efficiency is about cutting waste, not cutting corners, finding water that’s being used needlessly and stopping it. Because you pay both to buy clean water and to dispose of wastewater, every litre saved counts twice on the bill. It’s good for cashflow and for your environmental footprint at the same time.
Where the savings usually are
- Leaks, the biggest hidden cost; a continuous overnight flow is the tell.
- Taps, urinals and toilets, old or faulty fittings that run or over-flush.
- Processes, washdown, cooling and cleaning that use more than they need.
- Behaviour, simple habits, signage and maintenance routines.
- Metering, without good data, waste stays invisible.
How to get started
Start by understanding your usage, ideally with an AMR meter, so you can see overnight and out-of-hours flow. A water audit then pinpoints where water goes and what to fix first, from a dripping fitting to a leaking main. Many fixes are cheap and pay back quickly. While you’re reviewing usage, it’s also worth checking your charges are right, efficiency and an accurate bill go hand in hand.
Water efficiency by business type
Where the waste hides depends on what you do. In hospitality it’s usually kitchens and washrooms. In manufacturing it’s process water and cooling. In offices it’s leaks and overflowing cisterns nobody notices. Knowing your own pattern is the first real step.
Measuring and benchmarking your water use
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Submetering, a look at your monthly volume, and a proper business water audit turn a vague sense that you use a lot into specific numbers you can act on.
Once you know your usage in cubic metres, you can compare it against similar sites and see where you sit. Our page on pence per cubic metre helps you translate that volume into what it’s actually costing.
Turning efficiency into lower bills
Using less water cuts the bill twice. You pay for less water coming in, and usually less wastewater going out, since sewerage charges are often based on the same volume. That double effect is what makes efficiency worth the effort.
Fixing leaks is the obvious win. If you think you’ve got one, a water leak allowance may even credit back what you’ve already lost while you sort the repair.
Water-saving measures that actually move the needle
The biggest wins are usually the dull ones. A running urinal or a leaking cistern quietly wastes more than any clever gadget will ever save. After that, flow restrictors on taps, low-flush or waterless fittings in washrooms, and reusing process water where it’s safe all add up. In kitchens, a decent pre-rinse spray valve is one of the most reliable savers there is.
The pattern repeats in almost every business. A handful of points use most of the water. Find those first, fix them, and you’ve done the bulk of the job before you’ve spent much at all. A business water audit is the quickest way to find them.
Water efficiency FAQs
What is water efficiency?
Using less water to do the same job by removing waste, which lowers both your clean water and wastewater charges.
How does it reduce my bills?
You pay to buy water and to dispose of it, so every litre saved is saved twice. Cutting waste lowers both halves of the bill.
What’s the biggest source of wasted water?
Usually leaks, especially hidden ones that run day and night. Metering data is the quickest way to spot them.
Does using less water cut sewerage charges too?
Usually, yes. Sewerage charges are typically based on the water you buy, so using less reduces them as well.
How quickly do efficiency measures pay back?
Simple fixes like repairing leaks or fitting low-flow fittings often pay back within months. Larger process changes take longer but tend to deliver bigger ongoing savings.
Does saving water cut my wastewater bill too?
Usually yes. Sewerage charges are commonly based on the volume of water you take in, so using less water lowers both sides of the bill.
What’s the quickest water saving for most businesses?
Fixing leaks and running washroom fittings. They cost little to put right and often save more than any other single measure.
Want to use less and pay less?
We can help you get the metering and the right tariff in place to drive your water costs down, no obligation.
