Anglian Water is making rapid progress with the installation of 1.1million new upgraded water meters for homes and businesses across the region as part of a five-year project investing more than £180 million.

The water company has activated over 200,000 smart meters across the region this year to help tackle increased water use as a result of Covid19.

Since the first lockdown in March 2020, water consumption has increased by 10%, with the average person using 146 litres of water a day, compared to 133 litres 18 months ago.

This is mainly due to most people being at home resulting in toilets being flushed more, and people using more water in the garden during the warmer weather.

Anglian’s largest ever water metering installation programme will help customers better understand their water usage, plus detect leaks quicker both on the customer side and Anglian Water networks.

Anglian Water’s region is the driest in the UK receiving a third less rainfall than anywhere else in the country, meaning future water scarcity is the most significant challenge the company faces.

Helping customers use less water forms a substantial part of Anglian’s Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP). The document sets out how the water company will meet the increasing demands of customers, combined with the significant pressures of a changing climate and fast-growing population, and balance them with the needs of the wider environment over the next 25 years and beyond.

The upgraded metering programme is just one part of the plan to protect future water resources, alongside tackling leakage and installing around 500km of new strategic water mains. Without taking this combined action the region will face a water deficit of 30 million litres of water a day by 2025.

The mass installation programme began last year and will see this project continue over the next four years to reach their 1.1million target. With over 200,000 installed and activated so far this year, the water company is well on their way to reaching its goal.

Ian Rule, Director of Water for Anglian Water said:

“Our WRMP outlines our approach to tackling the significant challenges we’re facing; in part by managing the demand for water by installing upgraded meters to help customers understand their water usage, as well as helping us to pinpoint property-side leaks which can lose hundreds of litres of water a day.”

So far, of the 200,000 new meters installed almost 15% of households have been identified as having a leak, and Anglian Water are proactively contacting customers to inform them. To date, by helping customers find leaks Anglian Water has saved six million litres of water since January. The most common leaks have been found on customer toilets, wasting around 450 litres a day.

Current locations being upgraded to the new smart meter are the most water stressed and fastest growing parts of Anglian’s region including areas in Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Essex and Lincolnshire. Teams are working around the clock to install and activate the meters and with very little disruption for most customers as meters are typically located outside the home.