Smart(er) Water metering and reducing water use

Smart meters should at a minimum mean more regular reads and therefore more accurate bills, but the real benefit comes from better understanding your water use to identify issues like leaks and continuous flow, and to support water efficiency.

I spoke at a #MEUC event earlier this year and was asked about when bigger businesses and larger public sector organisations can expect to get a smart meter under the roll-out being talked about.

The short answer, is that as a water retailer I don’t yet know when each individual customer will receive meters from the relevant Wholesaler in their area, although work is being done in the industry to improve the available information on this, and to make the roll out of Smart Water Meters a good experience for customers.

If you aren't due to get a meter for some time, but want to start understanding your water use now, it is a good idea to consider a data logger.

Track what you’re using now to improve consumption data and business results

Getting better data on water use during the year is a real enabler for businesses and sites.

In fact, noting meter readings regularly, at least once a month - if you’re not already tracking this – and providing the reads to your water retailer, is an easy action to take which helps reduce bills based on estimated use.

This helps cost control and forecasting and can be done as part of other regular maintenance checks, if the meter is safe to access. It can also help identify areas where water waste is happening, including leaks.

Smarter water approaches to reduce risk and measure results

If the water meter isn’t safe to access, or you have multiple sites, then adding extra water tracking technology (sometimes referred to as AMR) is an option.

In fact, manufacturers and other industrial multi-sites are adding data loggers onto water meters in 2025 to gain daily data on water use, as well as track the positive impacts from #waterefficiency measures they’re introducing as part of #sustainability targets.

One multi-site has tracked a 42.5% water saving, on average daily use, at a location after it installed small, low-cost water efficiency devices through the UK’s biggest water retailer Water Plus this year.

Data loggers, installed through Water Plus, feeding information each day into an online analysis portal, also found a 800 litres an hour water saving could be achieved at one of a multi-site’s locations in 2025.

The increased use was in the middle of the night and the logger’s detailed data and proactive alert from the Water Plus team saw a water loss stopped quickly, preventing further cost increases.

Enhanced water data helped a business  identify a water loss from an underground pipe leak this year. It could have cost £48,000 in wholesaler costs, over 12 months, if it hadn't been spotted, pinpointed and repaired.

Data loggers can also save time, by removing the manual walkaround checks too.

In Summary…

It’s clear there is a real drive not to wait to gain extra water data for businesses and in the #publicsector, particularly for bigger water and energy users, with many we’re helping, through the services Water Plus can provide, taking action now to add data loggers to water meters this year.

And data loggers can not only help with risk management, by spotting issues early and alerts based on benchmarks, but can also help with portfolio management for those with multiple sites.

Not every water meter will be able to have a wholesaler smart meter – and roll-out plans will take time to deliver - and are across different time periods, in different wholesaler regions.

In the meantime, we are continuing our engagement with, and talking to, the Wholesalers we work with and other stakeholders in the industry about the roll-outs and how bigger water and energy users could be prioritised.

For more free information on how to manage water more easily, efficiently and effectively follow the Water Plus UK LinkedIn and see: www.water-plus.co.uk/better-ways-with-water. #BeWiseOnWater