It looks like we’re heading for a dry summer…and, after the driest spring in over a century, water companies around the UK are warning that hosepipe bans are imminent (where they haven’t already been enforced).

Anglian Water shared an update last week which summed it up well: although recent rain has helped, the East of England – already the UK’s driest region – remains under serious pressure. Recent investment in tackling leaks has improved their resilience, meaning they’ve been able to hold off restrictions for now. But the message is clear: we all need to rethink how we use water.

We couldn’t agree more. But we also believe the real solution isn’t just asking customers to ‘do their bit’ – it’s about making our homes, developments and infrastructure smarter by design.

Why behaviour change isn’t enough

Water companies have rightly praised customers who’ve started making small changes and of course, every little helps. But we also know how hard it is to get millions of people to change their everyday habits. Behavioural change campaigns have their place, but on their own they’re not enough to meet the scale of the challenge.

Instead of relying on everyone to remember to use less water, we should be making it easier to use water more efficiently without even thinking about it. That means building in smart, systemic solutions from the start.  Something we’ve been working on for a long time.

Smarter homes, by design

We’ve spent years helping developers, contractors and utilities make water-efficient homes the standard rather than the exception.

Take our namesake The Groundbreaker for example: the UK’s first above-ground, wall-mounted service solution. Designed to protect metering equipment, eliminate the need for chambers or pits and make it much quicker and easier to install and maintain meters. Better still, it enables true ‘plug and play’ connectivity for smart metering, meaning it’s much easier to monitor usage and detect leaks. That means less wasted water, better data for utilities and less disruption for residents.

The NRv2 LoFlo was developed to meet another pressing challenge:  how to help developers and utilities achieve lower water consumption targets without impacting customer experience.  Rather than relying on restrictive fittings or customer behaviour, the NRv2 LoFlo limits flow at the point of entry to a sustainable level while still maintaining more than adequate pressure for normal domestic use.  Compact, tamper-resistant and maintenance free, it’s an elegant engineering solution that helps meet building regulations, supports sustainability goals and reduces waste water – all without impacting residents.

Together, the Groundbreaker and NRv2 LoFlo create a complete future-ready point of entry solution helping developers meet regulatory targets and reducing unnecessary strain on the network.

Let’s think bigger – together

Water wastage isn’t just down to the water companies to solve and it’s not fair to put it all on the shoulders of individual households either.

Real change comes when everyone plays their part – utilities, developers, landlords and suppliers all working together to build a smarter, more resilient system. We’re proud to be part of that solution, giving our partners the tools they need to deliver homes that are ready for the future.

 Talk to us about how we can help you make your homes and developments truly water-smart and help keep hosepipe bans where they belong: as a last resort, not a way of life.

And thanks to everyone already working toward a more sustainable water future. Together, we can make a real difference.