Tom Andrewartha, Customer Strategy & Campaign Delivery Manager at Northumbrian Water and Chair of the UK Water Efficiency Strategy Steering Group’s Water and Energy Task and Finish Group, explains how water usage is inextricably linked to achieving net zero.

Carbon reduction is a challenge that faces every part of our business and our sector, the same way it does any organisation.

While our road to Net Zero is all encompassing, simple, small changes can really help deliver big reductions. Around a fifth of the energy we use in our homes is used to heat water. Water and energy are inextricably linked. Add affordability into the mix and we have an intriguing nexus to consider.

Boiling kettles, showering, running hot taps, using the dishwasher. It all adds to the cost of energy bills and to our carbon footprints.

Yet, when it comes to national energy efficiency programmes, it’s clear the dots have yet to be joined, and the relationship between water and energy usage has not been given the prominence it warrants, when it comes to tackling the issue on a broader scale.

This needs to change, and everyone has an interest in saving water.

In 2022, there has been an increased focus on water efficiency as the hot, dry summer has led to increased pressure on meeting water demand.

Keeping the water flowing – even when not faced with such challenging conditions - is vital but it is far from the only benefit of encouraging and supporting people across the North East and the world as a whole, to reduce their water usage. The gains are far-reaching, including on a very personal level.

We have made a commitment to eradicate water poverty in our operating areas by 2030. As people struggle to manage their finances through a cost of living crisis, the potential to reduce bills is surely a great incentive. Using less water also means spending less on energy and, for those on a water meter, on those bills, too.

And it’s also good for the planet.

If we are using less water in the home, with the associated energy savings, we are also reducing the amount that water companies need to extract from the environment, treat to potable standards, and transfer – through a network that often requires pumping – to people’s homes. This again reduces the water company’s energy usage and our domestic consumption, another double win.

It all adds up to a step in the right direction on the region’s road to Net Zero as we reduce our personal carbon footprint, that of water companies, and of the country as a whole.

The water sector has committed to a world-first sector-wide routemap to net zero in 2030.At Northumbrian Water, we want to play a leadership role demonstrating how change can be achieved in our sector and amongst our customers. Our own ambitious goal is to achieve this in 2027. In September, in our Emission Possible report, we published our latest figures, showing that we are more than 90% of the way there. Since we set our baseline in 2008, our carbon emissions have fallen from 303,000 tonnes to just 22,000.

Part of this has been a focus on reducing the energy we use when supplying water to homes. This has happened through hard work and innovation, including the use of Aquadapt, a real-time energy management software designed to optimise water production and supply. Aquadapt not only helps us to use energy at the best times to take advantage of off-peak costs, but also identifies issues such as pump inefficiencies and routes to the customer that reduce reliance on pumping, in order to minimise energy usage.

The difference that can be made by collective reduction in water usage by us all is significant.

Reducing water usage is only part of our work to achieve Net Zero.

As well as delivering clean water to our customers, we take away the wastewater for treatment and that’s carbon intensive, too. However, we have led the industry in innovation that has turned this into a source of green energy. We were the first, and are still the only water company to use 100% of the sludge left over from wastewater treatment to create sustainable power, using a process called Advanced Anaerobic Digestion (AAD), which we couple with Gas to Grid technology to inject green gas into the grid.

With these innovations, along with hydro power stations and a roll-out of new solar arrays on our sites, we will be generating 175GWh of green energy in the North East by 2024.

We are also using things like reed beds in our treatment processes, where possible. This again reduces some of the carbon intensive “normal” processes.

But we know that tackling operational carbon is not the only challenge. We are making progress towards planning and delivering on the challenges of process emissions, while we are also looking at capital carbon holistically and in a considerate fashion, rethinking our asset health and maintenance approach. This focus on process emissions and capital carbon takes us beyond our original plans and, while it is stretching ourselves, delivering for the environment is something we are passionate about.

So, back to what you can do as businesses or consumers to reduce carbon. Many of the ways people can reduce their usage are really simple and cost absolutely nothing. There are some great tips on our website, so why not check them out and help others understand how easy it is to make a difference for the planet and their wallets?

Whatever drives you, whether it be finances or a passion for the planet, saving water is not only an easy way to make a difference, it is an essential part of reducing energy consumption and driving down carbon emissions.