Members urged to tap into new Open Water opportunities

The government changes to mains waste water retail services are designed to bring more competition to the market, in the hope of bringing better value for money and delivering benefits to the UK economy valued at £200 million.
 

• See also: NFU survey highlights farmer appetite for mains water services
• NFU member? Read our FAQs guide to the new regime

Under the new system, ‘non-household’ customers such as farmers and growers will buy their mains and waste water services from newly created retailers, who in turn have bought their supplies from a wholesaler.

There is the potential for these new providers to offer value-added services such as leak detection, smart meters, water recycling, pipe insurance, improved billing or auditing of compliance for – for instance – livestock watering troughs.

Paul Hammett, national water resources specialist, said that the NFU has worked closely with Defra, regulator Ofwat and the Consumer Council for Water (which represents all water service customers) to ensure farm businesses will benefit from these changes.

“The Open Water market offers some exciting opportunities, but we also want to ensure that the switch-over in April is as painless as possible”, said Paul.
 

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