Securing water supplies
Reducing future floods
Protecting our future
"The UK WRA supports the comments made by Waterwise and shares its deep concern about the Government's decision to freeze changes to residential building regulations for the rest of this Parliament. The Chancellor has said the Government will draw the line on updates in order to speed up housing delivery. We understand the need to build more homes, but this decision comes at a high cost to our water supply.
"Building regulations (Part G2) and the Mandatory Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme are the two main ways of reducing water demand. A freeze limits both. It also puts at risk the legal target in the Environment Act to cut average personal water use by 20% by 2038, and it will make it harder to close the projected 6 billion litre a day gap between water supply and demand in England by 2055.
"There is no time to waste. Every new home built without water reuse is a lost opportunity. The UK WRA believes that every new home should have water reuse as standard. Without it, we are missing the chance to tackle water shortage."
Response to the 2026 UK Budget
Lutz Johnen, Chairman, UKWRA
of waste water was being reused
In England in 2020, only
0.06%
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Wastewater treatment in England: data for 2020 (21 December 2022).
Water Reuse Week 2026
Water Reuse Week is back for 2026! During the week of 14th–20th September, join us in spreading awareness about the power of water reuse—at home, at work, and in our communities. As climate change and rising demand put pressure on water supplies, now is the time to make water reuse part of everyday life.
Whether you are a business, school or household, getting involved is simple:
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Pledge to save water in your home or workplace.
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Use and share our free resources—posters, guides and tips.
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Join the conversation on social media with #WaterReuseWeekUK.
Together, we can make water reuse mainstream in the UK!