Options for Reducing Household Water Use in the UK: The Potential of Servicized Systems

Household water consumption in most high-income countries is well above that required to meet basic needs, but consumption levels vary significantly between these countries. In those where consumption levels are at the lower end of the spectrum as a result of improved efficiency of household appliances, scope for further significant reduction from improvements in efficiency alone is limited. Product-service systems are suggested as a means of significantly further lowering water consumption, there being a diverse range of such systems which could be developed in the water sector. In the theoretical analysis described here servicized greywater recycling systems are shown to have real potential in that they can help overcome maintenance and water quality issues associated with such systems. If servicized greywater recycling systems were introduced in all new-build dwellings in England and also when making major bathroom renovations, an absolute decoupling of population and economic growth, and household water consumption would be possible as a result of savings in mains water consumption