Public water supply and sanitation in the United Kingdom is characterised by universal access and generally good service quality. A salient feature of the sector in the United Kingdom compared to other developed countries is the diversity of institutional arrangements between the constituting parts of the UK, which are each described in separate articles, while this article is devoted to some common issues across the United Kingdom.
Access
Access to improved water supply and sanitation in the UK is universal. In 2015, 100% of the population had access to improved water supply and 99% of the population had access to "improved" sanitation.
Urban
Rural
Total
Water
Broad definition
100%
100%
100%
House connections
100%
98%
100%
Sanitation
Sewerage
97%
97%
97%
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program
Water sources
According to the Environment Agency, total water abstraction for public water supply in the UK was 16,406 megalitres per day in 2007. Groundwater contributes 30 per cent of public supply water in England. In Wales and Scotland groundwater provides about five per cent of public supply. The majority of the UK's abstraction of surface water is from reservoirs, where rainwater is transported via rivers and streams and contained in an artificial or natural lake until it is required.
In England and Wales water and sewerage services are provided by 10 private regional water and sewerage companies and 13 mostly smaller private "water only" companies. In Scotland water and sewerage services are provided by a single public company, Scottish Water. In Northern Ireland water and sewerage services are also provided by a single public entity, Northern Ireland Water.
According to a 2006 survey by NUS consulting the average water tariff without sewerage in the U.K. for large consumers was the equivalent of US$1.90 per cubic metre. This was the third-highest tariff among the 14 mostly OECD countries covered by the report.
Metering
A particularity of water tariffs in the U.K. is the low share of metering. Most users are not billed on a volumetric basis and have no financial incentive for water conservation. Since the 1990s efforts have been made to increase the share of household metering, which reached 33% in 2008. The Environment Agency would like to see 75% of households metered by 2025. The Fairness on Tap coalition is calling for the government to set out a strategy to install water meters in at least 80% of England where there is the greatest pressure on the freshwater environment and people's pockets, by 2020. Studies show that water meters lead to a 5-15% reduction in household water use.
