LEAKS WON’T WASH

Water firms will be ordered to stop wasting the equivalent of 2.1 billion baths a year through leaky pipes.

Industry regulator Ofwat is preparing for the next price review which will determine bills for millions of households between 2020 and 2025.

It wants suppliers to cut the amount of water lost through leakages by at least 15%, or 170 billion litres. That’s enough to supply Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Cardiff for a whole year. Suppliers that fail to meet leakage targets can be fined.

Ofwat senior director David Black said: “Given the costs involved in treating water, these leaking pipes are money down the drain.”