Homebuilders will be paid £1000 per property if they commit to ‘water neutrality’

Measures are set to be put in place to reward housebuilders who install low-flow showers and other water-saving technologies.  

Thames Water, which is located in an area under serious water stress, is to give developers a discount on joining the network if they agree to reduce water use in their properties. 

Housing developers are also being told to modify their existing properties as they build new ones in a bid to achieve ‘water neutrality’. 

This means that the total demand for water in the area is the same after a new development goes up as it was beforehand, according to the Telegraph.

Thames Water will reward housebuilders who commit to water neutrality with more than £1,000 per property on any new development.   

They are encouraging housebuilders to install technology such as low-flow showers, which use less water and pressure.

Housebuilders are also being encouraged to put systems in place that use ‘greywater’ from basins, baths and washing machines to flush toilets and water gardens.  

Thames Water’s measures come as water companies have faced pressure over leaks in their systems and water pollution.

Water companies have argued that both issues are worsened by new homes which can overwhelm current sewage systems. 

Thames Water is also offering discounts for homes which are built with sustainable drainage.

The government is considering making sustainable drainage a requirement for new developments.   

It could mean restrictions on non-permeable driveway paving and green spaces which will allow water to soak into the ground instead of running off into the sewage system via the drains.  

Thames Water believes that putting limits on water use and runoff could help stop the outflow of sewage into rivers from its systems.

This occurred for more than 200,000 hours in 2020.  It comes after the Environment Agency warned that parts of England could run out of water within 25 years as a result of demand growing from a rising population. 

The Environment Agency has also warned of the impacts of climate change and called for household water use to be cut by a third.   

It also called for leaks on water companies’ networks to be cut by half. Thames Water is one of the worst companies for leaks, losing around 25 per cent across its network.  

By 2040, the South East is expected to face shortfalls of up to 1.1 billion litres of water a day if no action is taken to limit loss.   

Water industry executives are calling on the Government to label household appliances to show how much water they use and new building regulations on new homes to help them use less water.   

Andrew Tucker, Thames Water’s head of demand management, said: ‘To keep taps running for future generations and to protect sensitive rivers and chalk streams, we need to reduce the amount of water we all use.

‘This includes us fixing more leaks, but also people using less water in their daily lives.’

Home Builders Federation, which represents the biggest developers, welcomed the Thames Water scheme.   

A spokesperson said: ‘The approach by Thames seems a pragmatic and deliverable one that is in stark contrast to other areas where the result has been a moratorium on house building and demands that builders pay for solutions that are the responsibility of the water companies.’

‘New builds are already more water efficient than existing homes and incentivising developers to go further will drive greater savings and, in turn, influence consumer expectations and behaviours.’