Top Three Tips for Reducing Water Costs

Posted by Knight Frank Newcastle on 30th March 2023 -

'Water bills will rise by the highest in 20 years as water companies announce increases in charges. Here are three top tips for rural businesses to save water and mitigate those costs.

Average domestic customer water bills will surge by 7.5% in England and Wales and 5% in Scotland, according to the industry body, Water UK. Water prices for business users will go up by 6.4% on average, says the comparison website aquaswitch.co.uk.

We examine the potential impact for rural businesses and provide Knight Frank’s top three tips to reduce water costs.

Top three tips for saving water costs

Explore available grants

There are some worthwhile grants available to help with more efficient water application or secure alternative water supply. Henry Clemons, Knight Frank’s grant expert explains that “there is potential funding for items such as rainwater capture tanks which could really make a difference to rural business’ water costs”. The availability of the water resource management grants will vary between UK nations and can be competitive, but an expert like Henry can guide a business to the most appropriate funding using Knight Frank’s in-house grant tool.

Check your charges

Businesses should understand their water usage and charges to ensure that they are being billed correctly.

For example, suppose a business uses a significant amount of water in its operations and a lower volume of water returns to the sewers. In that case, the business may be overcharged for wastewater rates. Contact your water company to apply a “return to sewerage” factor to reduce the volumetric wastewater rates.

John Williams of Knight Frank’s Rural Consultancy team suggests “if your business is being charged a high surface water drainage fee, it is advisable to conduct a water audit to ensure that you are being fairly charged for your usage.” A water audit is an assessment of your water usage, which can help find inefficiencies and highlight savings opportunities. If the audit reveals that you have been overcharged for surface water drainage, you may be able to reclaim the excess charges from your water supplier

If a property is not connected to the sewers, it should not be charged a highway drainage charge.

Continue to read on Knight Frank website

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