Water supply and sanitation in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... : Water and Sanitation

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!align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="3"|Data
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Water coverage (broad definition)
|valign="top"| 100%
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Sanitation coverage (broad definition)
|valign="top"| 100%
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Continuity of supply (%)
|valign="top"| 100%
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Average urban water use (l/c/d)
|valign="top"| 150
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Average urban domestic water and sewer bill for 20m3
|valign="top"| n/a
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of household metering
|valign="top"| 33% (2008) .
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Non-revenue water

Non-revenue water

Non revenue water is water that has been produced and is “lost” before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses or apparent losses . High levels of NRW are detrimental to the financial viability of water utilities, as well to the quality of water itself...

|valign="top"| n/a
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of collected wastewater treated
|valign="top"| 100%
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Annual investment in WSS
|valign="top"| n/a
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of self-financing by utilities
|valign="top"| n/a
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of tax-financing
|valign="top"| n/a
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Share of external financing
|valign="top"| n/a
|-
!align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="3"|Institutions
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Decentralization to municipalities
|valign="top"| No
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|National water and sanitation company
|valign="top"| None
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Water and sanitation regulator
|valign="top"| Three regulators, one each for England/Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Responsibility for policy setting
|valign="top"|
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Sector law
|valign="top"| None
|-
!align="left" valign="top"|Number of service providers
|valign="top"| 28
|-
|}
Public water supply

Water supply

Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...

and sanitation

Sanitation

Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...

in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

is characterized by universal access and generally good service quality. A salient feature of the sector in the United Kingdom compared to other developed countries is the diversity of institutional arrangements between the constituting parts of the UK (England and Wales

Water supply and sanitation in England and Wales

Public water supply and sanitation in the England and Wales has been characterized by universal access and generally good service quality. Salient features of the sector in the United Kingdom compared to other developed countries is the full privatization of service provision and the pioneering of...

; Scotland

Water supply and sanitation in Scotland

Public water supply and sanitation in Scotland is characterized by universal access and generally good service quality. Water and sewerage services are provided by a single public company, Scottish Water. The economic water industry regulator is the Water Industry Commission for Scotland...

; and Northern Ireland), which are each described in separate articles, while this article is devoted to some common issues across the United Kingdom.

Access

		Urban (90% of the population)	Rural (10% of the population)	Total
Water	Broad definition	100%	100%	100%
	House connections	100%	98%	100%
Sanitation	Sewerage	97%	97%	97%

Source: WHO

Who

Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...

/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (2008)

Access to improved water supply and sanitation in the UK is universal. It is estimated that 97% of households are connected to the sewer network.

Water sources

According to the Environment Agency, total water abstraction for public water supply in the UK was 16,406 megalitres per day in 2007.

Policy and regulation

In England and Wales the economic regulator of water companies is the Water Services Regulation Authority

Water Services Regulation Authority

The Water Services Regulation Authority is the body responsible for economic regulation of the privatised water and sewerage industry in England and Wales....

(Ofwat). The Environment Agency

Environment Agency

The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...

is responsible for environmental regulation, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate

Drinking Water Inspectorate

The Drinking Water Inspectorate is a section of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs set up to regulate the public water supply companies in England and Wales....

for regulating drinking water quality. The economic water industry regulator in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

is the Water Industry Commission for Scotland and the environmental regulator is the Scottish Environment Protection Agency

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is Scotland’s environmental regulator. Its main role is to protect and improve Scotland's environment...

. Drinking water standards and wastewater discharge standards in the UK, as in other countries of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, are determined by the EU (see Water supply and sanitation in the European Union

Water supply and sanitation in the European Union

Water Supply and Sanitation in the European Union still is under the responsibility of each member state. Nevertheless, the European Union established some policies which impact the National water strategies tremendously. However, WSS evolved in every Member State independently until the policies...

Service provision

In England and Wales water and sewerage services are provided by 10 private regional water and sewerage companies and 16 mostly smaller private "water only" companies. In Scotland water and sewerage services are provided by a single public company, Scottish Water

Scottish Water

Scottish Water is a statutory corporation in Scotland that provides water and sewerage services. Unlike in England and Wales, water and sewerage provision in Scotland continues as a public corporation accountable to the public through the Scottish Government....

. In Northern Ireland water and sewerage services are also provided by a single public entity, Northern Ireland Water.

Tariffs

According to a 2006 survey by NUS consulting the average water tariff (price) without sewerage in the U.K. for large consumers was the equivalent of US$ 1.90 per cubic metre. This was the third-highest tariff among the 14 mostly OECD countries covered by the report.

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. Since the 1990s efforts have been made to increase the share of household metering, which reached 33% in 2008. The Environment Agency would like to see 75% of households metered by 2025. The Fairness on Tap coalition (including National Trust

National Trust

National Trust most commonly refers to an organization dedicated to preserving the cultural or environmental treasures of a particular geographic region. They generally operate as private non-profit organizations, although some receive considerable support from their national government...

, Waterwise, WWF

World Wide Fund for Nature

The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...

and RSPB) is calling for the government to set out a strategy to install water meters in at least 80% of England where there is the greatest pressure on the freshwater environment and people's pockets, by 2020. Studies show that water meters lead to a 5-15% reduction in household water use.

External links

Water UK
Environment Agency 's water quality website
Water Resources Management in Cooperation with Agriculture project

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