Regulators argue that water companies need to work more closely with other agencies to identify and support vulnerable households and academic research suggests that partnership working is important to address both water affordability and efficiency issues.
In 2016 Brighton and Hove became one of the first areas in the country to use a partnership approach to addresses both water efficiency and affordability in one programme. The Community Water Partnership brought together Southern Water, the domestic water supplier for the region; Brighton and Hove City Council, which is responsible for 11,000 social housing properties; the Consumer Council for Water, a statutory body which has a particular interest in water affordability and researchers at the University of Sussex, in the School of Law, Politics and Sociology and the Science Policy Research Unit.
The partnership built on Southern Water’s offer to its customers of a free water-saving visit by also including a water affordability component and conducting research with households. This water efficiency and affordability programme was focused on social housing belonging to the city council – much of which is located in low-income communities.
- A DIY Manual for saving water produced with and for local people- Take12 Booklet
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TAKE 12 PEOPLE, 12 WATER BILLS, 12 WAYS TO SAVE MONEY. A DIY MANUAL FOR SAVING WATER PRODUCED WITH AND FOR LOCAL PEOPLE to download the booklet in PDF format: Click here
- Water Executive Summary Report 06 Nov 2019
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WATER EFFICIENCY AND AFFORDABILITY TACKLING THEM IN PARTNERSHIP AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY REPORT to download the document in PDF format: Click here
- The Community Water Partnership University of Sussex Research Report- November 2019
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To download the document in PDF format: Click here
The Community Water Partnership aimed to:
- Address water efficiency and affordability together.
- Focus support for social housing tenants with higher than average water consumption for the number of people living in the household.
- Understand how they use water in their day-today lives; challenges they face in reducing water bills; and the influence of the water visit.
- Prioritise experimentation and learning to improve its water efficiency and affordability programme.
- Explore different approaches to identify households for a water visit; methods for contacting them and ways to engage to support water use and bill reduction.