I’ve heard a lot in the media about water lost through leaks. What can I do to help save water by preventing leakage?

Preventing and tackling leaks is an important issue. By building watertight homes you can help keep your customers’ water bills down, tackle the effects of climate change and support a healthy, flourishing environment.

About a quarter of leaks are found on the underground supply pipes, which connect properties to water mains - so developers have a key role to play in building robust water networks to tackle these leaks.

There are simple steps which you can take to reduce the risk of leaks on supply pipes - for example, using a continuous, uninterrupted length of pipe that runs in a straight line and making sure the water pipe is installed at the correct depth to prevent pipework freezing.

Detailed advice and guidance is available online via water.org.uk/self-lay-code-of-practice and water.org.uk/guidance/meter-location-best-practice-guidelines.

Leaks can often crop up inside homes too, especially if fixtures and fittings aren’t installed properly or are of poor quality.

By using approved contractors and approved fittings in new-builds you can be more confident about protecting your customers from:

• Dripping taps and showers - a tap dripping once a second can waste 7,000 litres a year
• Leaking loos - a toilet leaking clean water from the cistern to the pan can waste up to 400 litres of water a day (that’s five full bath tubs!)
• Loose connections on washing machines or dishwashers.

Insulating pipes and fittings in unheated places such as under floors, lofts and garages, as well as outside taps, will also help prevent bursts and leaks during cold weather.

Further advice can be found in our ‘Developing homes to prevent leaks in pipes and plumbing’ leaflet for developers. Click here to download it.

We have also produced a leakage leaflet for you to share with new homeowners which sets out advice on the tell-tale signs to look out for and how to trace and fix leaks. Click here to download it.