Water regulator Ofwat is to splurge up to £75 million of bill-payers’ cash telling households how to save water – despite billions of litres being wasted every day due to leaky pipes.
The watchdog, which ministers have vowed to scrap, is set to launch the multi-million-pound advertising and information campaign to reduce water usage by homes and businesses.
Ofwat said the campaign will be funded by water bills – which are already set to rise by an average of £123 this year.
Meanwhile, an average of three billion litres of water – equivalent to 1,200 Olympic sized swimming pools – is being wasted daily in England and Wales due to leaky pipes, research by the House of Commons Library for the Liberal Democrats found this year.
Government figures also show that household water use is already falling – down by an average of four litres per person per day over the past two years.
