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Business Water for Offices
Even small workspaces can consume more water than you’d expect. From kitchens and washrooms to cleaning and cooling systems, water plays a vital role in maintaining comfort, hygiene, and efficiency for your employees. For larger buildings with multiple floors, staff kitchens, and dozens (or even hundreds) of employees, water bills can add up quickly.
Whether you manage a single office or a network of sites across England and Scotland, it’s worth taking the time to understand how your business water rates work and what you can do to keep costs under control. This guide will help you understand the business water contract for your office, identify savings opportunities, and explain how switching suppliers could benefit your workplace.
Understanding office water charges
Every office is charged for water in two main ways:
• volumetric charges
• standing charges
The volumetric element reflects how much water your business actually uses, plus the wastewater returned to the sewer system. Typical uses include staff washrooms, tea and coffee stations, dishwashers, cleaning, and HVAC systems. Even modest consumption, when multiplied by a large workforce, can result in high annual water bills.
The standing charge is a fixed daily or monthly fee that covers essential services such as water supply, wastewater collection, and administration costs. Both types of charges are shown clearly on your business water bill. The total cost depends on your location, supplier tariff, and how efficiently your office manages its water usage.
Why offices can overpay for water
Many offices are on legacy tariffs that haven’t been reviewed for years. Others pay default market rates because they’ve never switched suppliers. Add to that common inefficiencies such as dripping taps, running toilets, or old flush systems, and it’s easy to see how businesses end up overpaying.
A small leak in a washroom or a tap left running in the kitchen can waste thousands of litres of water every year. In larger buildings, maintenance staff may not notice the problem until the bill arrives. That’s why monitoring and proactive maintenance make such a difference.
If you haven’t reviewed your office’s business water rates in a few years, it’s worth doing a business water rate comparison with our tool.
Reducing your office’s water consumption
Improving efficiency doesn’t always mean major investment. Simple changes can make a real difference. Installing modern taps with flow restrictors or dual-flush toilets can reduce water use without affecting comfort. Encouraging employees to report leaks or adopt “switch-off” habits can also cut waste.
For multi-tenant buildings, reviewing how charges are allocated can help identify which floors or departments are driving higher costs. Smart metering systems make this easier, giving facility managers real-time visibility of usage patterns and highlighting unusual spikes that may point to leaks.
Why switching suppliers can help
In the deregulated markets of England and Scotland, offices can choose their water retailer. This means you’re free to compare offers, negotiate better rates, or move to a supplier that provides additional support such as data reporting or usage analysis. Switching the business water for your office can lead to lower tariffs, simpler billing, and better customer service — all with minimal disruption.
At The Business Water Shop, we make switching simple. With one quick comparison, you can see which suppliers best fit your building’s needs and usage profile, and start saving right away.
Get started today
If your office hasn’t reviewed its water contract recently, now’s the time. By switching to a more competitive supplier and tightening up efficiency, you can reduce your bills and make your workplace more sustainable.
