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Home / Who we help / Farms
Last updated August 2026
Who we help
Business Water for Farms
On a dairy, arable or mixed farm, water is a real working cost. It is also one of the few that can be brought down without changing anything about how the farm operates.
You can switch retailer. Farm businesses have had that right in England since 2017. Most never have. This page covers where farm water costs come from, how to switch retailer, and where overpayment usually hides.
| Wholesale supply | Comes from regional water companies (Thames Water, Severn Trent, Yorkshire Water, and others). |
|---|---|
| Contracting | Farms can contract directly with retailers, and estates or buying groups can contract centrally across multiple holdings. |
| Biggest savings levers | Surface water drainage rebates, trade effluent reviews and meter validation. |
| Farm holdings | 102,300 in England and 209,000 across the UK, on Defra’s 2024 figures. |
| Abstraction | Taking more than 20 cubic metres a day from a river or borehole needs a licence from the Environment Agency. |
| Licensed retailers | Around 20 are licensed by Ofwat to supply non-household water. |
Where the money goes
Why farms pay more for water than they should
The usual story on a farm bill is that the supply was set up years ago, the yard has changed since, and nobody has looked at the tariff or the drainage charge in the meantime. The five checks further down are where that shows up.
No template tariff fits a farm cleanly. A dairy parlour runs washdown cycles every day of the year, troughs fill around grazing patterns, and arable sprayer filling peaks hard in season. Most agricultural supplies sit on a general commercial tariff that was never set up with any of that in mind.
The other quiet drain on the bill is surface water drainage. Farm yards mostly drain to slurry stores, soakaways or ditches rather than the public sewer, but the standard charge assumes rainwater leaves through the sewer network. Documenting where the water actually goes can be the single biggest correction on a farm bill.
Where it shows up
The five areas farms overpay
Where farms overpay and why it matters.
Surface water drainage on yards and buildings
Charged on the site footprint by default, but how drainage is assessed depends on your regional wholesaler. Where yards and roofs drain to slurry stores, soakaways or ditches rather than the public sewer, the charge can be challenged, and in many wholesaler regions rebates can be backdated.
Return to sewer allowance not applied
Water that goes into livestock, irrigation or slurry never reaches the sewer, yet default billing assumes most of it does. A corrected return to sewer allowance brings the wastewater side of the bill in line with what actually leaves the site.
Trade effluent banding out of date
Slurry, silage effluent and dairy washings are covered by a trade effluent consent with set strength bandings. If livestock numbers, storage or washdown routines have changed, the banding can be wrong for how the site now runs and is worth reviewing.
Boreholes and rainwater capture not reflected
Where a private supply offsets mains use, the contract and the wastewater calculation should reflect the lower metered volume. Older contracts often do not.
Leaks on long private pipe runs
Farm supplies often run long distances underground to troughs and outbuildings, so a leak on a remote run can go unnoticed for months. Regular meter readings compared with the same period last year catch it early.
Results
Case studies
Surface water drainage audit across the estate uncovered £35,364 in refunds and £8,800 a year in ongoing savings.
Worth knowing
Farmhouse or farm business, which market are you in?
The farm business is a non-household water customer, so its supplies sit in the open market and can be switched. The farmhouse is different. Where a dwelling has its own supply on a domestic tariff, it stays with the regional water company like any other home.
Mixed use is common and worth checking. A single meter that serves both the yard and the house is usually treated as non-household where the main use is the business. The official rules on who counts as a business customer are published by Open Water, the body that runs the market, and a wrongly classified supply can be corrected.
The market
Can farms and estates switch water supplier?
Yes. England’s non-household water market opened to competition in April 2017 and Scotland’s opened in 2008, so every farm business can choose a different water retailer. Wholesale supply still comes from your regional water company; only the retailer (the company that bills you and reads your meter) changes.
The 12 retailers below are all licensed by Ofwat to supply non-household water. Pricing, service and sector experience vary from retailer to retailer.
Choose your route
Routes to procurement
Three ways farm businesses typically bring a new water contract in. Each comes with its own trade-off between control, effort and how sharp the price lands.
Direct with a retailer
The farm signs straight with a licensed retailer. Best for a single holding that wants a sharper rate. You handle the comparison and the switch yourself.
Estate or buying group contract
Estates and farm buying groups can put multiple holdings on one central contract. Efficient at volume, but each farm is tied to whichever retailer the group has chosen.
Broker-led market test
A water broker compares the market for you, handles the paperwork and manages the switch from start to finish. Nothing changes physically on the farm.
Why choose The Business Water Shop
- Award-winning independent brokerage, not owned by or tied to any water retailer.
- Rated 5 stars on Google and 5 stars on Trustpilot by UK businesses.
- Experts with experience in business water for farms, estates and rural businesses.
- We compare quotes from up to 14 licensed retailers.
- We handle the whole switch, from the comparison and paperwork to the supplier contact.
- One point of contact for multi-property portfolios.
Questions
Farm water FAQs
Do farms pay business water rates or domestic?
The farm business pays non-household water rates, the agricultural water rates that sit in the open market we operate in. A farmhouse on its own domestic supply stays with the regional water company. Where one meter serves both, classification follows the main use of the supply and is worth checking.
I have a borehole. Does my mains contract still matter?
Yes. Most boreholes do not cover the whole site, so parlour washdown, dairy hygiene or the yard supply often stays on mains. The contract and the wastewater calculation should reflect the lower metered volume.
What about trade effluent consent for slurry and silage effluent?
Trade effluent consent sits separately from the water supply contract, with charges based on strength and volume. If livestock numbers, storage or washdown routines have changed materially, the consent banding is worth reviewing at the same time as the contract.
Can a switch happen during calving or harvest?
Yes. A switch is paperwork rather than plumbing. There is no interruption to supply, no engineer visit and no change to the pipes, so the timing of the farming year does not matter.
Who fixes a burst main on the farm?
The regional wholesaler still owns and maintains the network up to your boundary, whichever retailer you choose. Anything on the private side of the meter remains the farm’s responsibility, which is why leak checks on long runs matter.
Does an abstraction licence change who I can buy mains water from?
No. Abstraction is licensed separately by the Environment Agency for anything over 20 cubic metres a day taken from rivers, streams or boreholes. Your choice of mains retailer is unaffected.
How do I get a quote?
Send a recent water bill for the holding. The SPID, annual volume and current retailer are all on it. We come back within two working days with an alternative quote and a flag if anything looks worth checking on drainage or trade effluent.
