Water supply and sanitation in the United Kingdom

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Public water supply and sanitation in the United Kingdom is characterized by universal access and generally good service quality. Some salient features of the sector in the United Kingdom compared to other developed countries are:

  • the diversity of institutional arrangements between the constituting parts of the UK (England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland);
  • the full privatization of service provision in England and Wales; and
  • the pioneering of independent economic regulation in the sector in Europe.

Like in other countries of the EU there has been a subsantial increase in real tariffs between 1989 and 2005. This was accompanied by a significant improvements in service quality during the same period.

This article is part of a series of articles describing water and sanitation in various countries around the world using the same categories to facilitate comparison. For more details see the links to articles on other countries in the section "see also".

Contents

[edit] Access

Urban (89% of the population) Rural (11% of the population) Total
Water Broad definition 100% 100% 100%
House connections 100% 98% 100%
Sanitation Sewerage 97% 97% 97%

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (2004) [1]

Access to improved water supply and sanitation in the UK is universal. It is estimated that 96% of households are connected to the sewer network and only 4% are served by on-site sanitation stysems such as septic tanks.[2]

[edit] Water use and sources

A leaking tap.
A leaking tap.

Household water use in England and Wales stood at 150 liters/capita/day in 2004/05.[3] This figure does not include other municipal uses (commercial and public) or leakage losses. According to the Environment Agency, total water abstraction for public water supply in the UK was 17.2 million cubic meters (MCM) per day in 2004, which is the same level as in 1987.[4]

[edit] Quality of service

The quality of water and sanitation services in England and Wales is regularly and comprehensively monitored by the economic regulator, OFWAT. OFWAT statistics show that service quality has improved since the early 1990s, i.e. shortly after services were privatized. For example, the number of unplanned interruptions, properties at risk of low pressure, the share of complaints that were not answered within five days and combined sewer overflows have all declined, while sewage treatment works compliance has increased and river water quality has improved.[5] A comparison with service quality in other areas of the European Union is difficult, since few other countries or regions monitor water and sanitation service quality as comprehensively as it is done in England and Wales.

[edit] Responsibility for water supply and sanitation

[edit] Service provision

For more details on this topic, see United Kingdom water companies.

Since the water privatization of 1989 under the government of Margaret Thatcher water and sewerage services in England and Wales are provided by 10 private regional water and sewerage companies and 16 mostly smaller water only companies. In Scotland water and sewerage services are provided by a single by public company, Scottish Water. In Northern Ireland water and sewerage services are also provided by a single public entity, the Department for Regional Development's Water Service.

[edit] Policy and regulation

The economic regulator of water companies in England and Wales is the Water Services Regulatrion Authority, OFWAT. The economic water industry regulator in Scotland is the Water Industry Commission for Scotland.

The Environment Agency is responsible for environmental regulation, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate for regulating drinking water quality in the United Kingdom.

Drinking water standards and wastewater discharge standards in the U.K., as in other countries of the European Union, is determined by the EU (see EU water policy).

[edit] Recent developments

While the basic structure of the water industry in England and Wales has remained relatively unchanged since the 1989 privatization, there have been major recent changes in Scotland

In 2002 the Scottish Parliament passed a law merging three regional public service providers into a single provider, Scottish Water. In 2005 it passed another law allowing competition for "retail services" - defined as metering, billing and customer service - to business customers beginning in 2008, while wholesale services - defined as providing water and removing wastewater - remains a public monopoly.[6]

[edit] Tariffs

Water and saniation tariffs in England and Wales have increased by 39.1% in real terms between 1989 and 2006 [7] and are among the highest in the world. The average household water bill in England and Wales in 2006 is 294 Pound Sterling.[8] According to a 2006 survey by NUS consulting the average water tariff (price) without sewerage in the U.K. was the equivalent of US$ 1.90 per cubic meter. This was the third-highest tariff among the 14 mostly OECD countries covered by the report.[9]

A study commissioned by the German industry association BGW in 2006, compared the average household water and sanitation bill (as opposed to the tariff per cubic meter that the NUS study used as a comparator) in four EU countries. This study showed that tariffs in England and Wales were the highest among the four countries. Average water bills (excluding sanitation) were 95 Euro per year in England and Wales, higher than in Germany, France (85 Euro) or Italy (59 Euro). Taking into account differences in subsidies and service quality, the cost of supplying water at an equalized service level would be 84 Euros in Germany, 106 Euro in both France and England/Wales, and 74 Euro in Italy. [10] Concerning sanitation, unequalized tariffs are the highest in Germany at 111 Euro per year, 93 Euro in England and Wales, 90 Euro in France and only 40 Euro in Italy. Equalized costs net of subsidies are, however, highest in England and Wales with 138 Euro, followed by France (122 Euro), Germany (119 Euro) and Italy (85 Euro).

Water and sanitation tariffs are regulated by OFWAT, which sets caps for tariff changes over five-year periods. In the 2000-2005 review period OFWAT mandated an average annual reduction of tariffs of 1.6%. However, in the 2006-2010 review period it has allowed an average annual increase of 4.2%. [11]

More details on tariffs in England and Wales are provided in OFWAT's annual reports on water and sewerage charges [12]

[edit] Investment and Financing

Average annual investments in water and sewerage in 2000-2005 were 3.3 billion Pound Sterling, according to OFWAT.[13] Investments are financed primarily through self-financing and borrowing in the capital market.

[edit] Efficiency (Water losses)

Efficiency of service provision has many dimensions, of which only one (water losses) is treated here.

According to OFWAT leakage in England and Wales has declined significantly from 228 liters/property/day in 1994-95 to 149 l/p/d in 2005, enough to supply the needs of 10 million people.[14] According to the Environment Agency, many companies in the UK have reduced their water loss to the economic level of leakage. This is the level at which, in the long-term, the marginal cost of leakage control is equal to the marginal benefit of the water saved. The rate of reduction in leakage has slowed for many companies because the most obvious causes of leakage have been detected and addressed, leaving only less apparent leakage problems.[15] Models have been developed and fine-tuned to assess the economic level of leakage. A summary of the debate on these models can be found in a recent report by OFWAT. [16]

According to a comparative study commissioned by the German water industry association BGW average water losses in the distribution network in England and Wales have been estimated at 19 percent. They are lower than in France (26 percent) or Italy (29 percent), but higher than in Germany, where they are apparently only 7 percent. [17] The study states that its methodology allows for an accurate comparison, including water used to flush pipes and for firefighting. This is consistent with the International Water Association's definition of non-revenue water, which includes authorized non-metered consumption such as for flushing and firefighting.

OFWAT does not use percentage figures when it assesses leakage levels. Also it assesses only leakage and not broader losses. It is thus difficult to compare figures from the comparative study cited above with OFWAT figures for England and Wales.

[edit] Metering

A particularity of water tariffs in the U.K. is the low share of metering. Most users are not billed on a volumetric basis and have no financial incentive for water conservation. Recently efforts have been made to increase the share of household metering, which now stands at about 25%. The Environment Agency would like to see 75% of households metered by 2025. Studies show that water meters lead to a 5-15% reduction in household water use.[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ WHO/UNICEF JMP [1]
  2. ^ WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program [2]
  3. ^ Environment Agency [3]
  4. ^ Environment Agency[4]
  5. ^ OFWAT Facts and Figures 2007[5]
  6. ^ Water Industry Commission for Scotland [6]
  7. ^ OFWAT Facts and Figures 2007[7]
  8. ^ OFWAT Facts and Figures 2007[8]
  9. ^ NUS[9]
  10. ^ Metropolitan Consulting Group: VEWA - Vergleich europaeischer Wasser- und Abwasserpreise, p. 7 of the executive summary [10]
  11. ^ OFWAT Facts and Figures, 2007, [11]
  12. ^ OFWAT Annual report on water and sewerage charges 2006[12]
  13. ^ OFWAT Facts and Figures 2007[13]
  14. ^ OFWAT Facts and Figures 2007[14]
  15. ^ Environment Agency[15]
  16. ^ OFWAT, Security of supply, leakage and water efficiency, 2006, p. 40.[16]
  17. ^ Metropolitan Consulting Group: VEWA - Vergleich europaeischer Wasser- und Abwasserpreise, p. 4 of the executive summary [17]
  18. ^ Environment Agency[18]

[edit] External links

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