Less than 1% of businesses in England use more water than the daily needs of 10 million people, as millions of households face hosepipe bans and three-quarters of the country is in drought. Businesses across England use 2.6bn litres a day from the public water supply, which includes potable and non-potable water provided by water companies. In total, businesses account for about 30% of public supply use, with two-thirds of their consumption in water-stressed areas, according to Mosl, the organisation that operates England’s business water market.
Tracking industrial water use appears difficult. Regulators say they are frustrated by a lack of data and “commercial secrecy”, and the water sector says it is prevented from planning effectively for growth industries. The biggest users of the public water supply include oil refineries, chemical plants and paper mills, and some face no requirement to cut their consumption.
Mosl’s map of business water supply points, ranked by volume used, showed the site of ExxonMobil’s Esso refinery at Fawley, Southampton, as the largest user of public water supply. However, the site includes a number of other operators that also use the water, including waste, gas, chemicals and energy companies. Mosl cited the refinery’s water use in written evidence to a House of Lords committee as an example of “the high volume of water wastage in industry that is not disincentivised by government or the regulatory framework”.
Mosl did not name the refinery but described its location, which was also visible on its map of supply points. ExxonMobil disputed Mosl’s figures, saying its water use was commercially confidential. Mosl said it planned to ask the committee to redact parts of its evidence.
During reporting, Mosl also removed a report and its supply point map from its website. The refinery said the “vast majority” of the water it used came from the Solent strait for cooling, while “industrial water” was used for processes that could not easily be reduced without shutting down operating units. Potable water accounted for less than 1% of total consumption, it said.
Apart from refineries, other major users of the public water supply include paper mills and companies in the chemicals and soft drinks industries. But the overall picture of business water use is incomplete. One in 10 businesses are not metered, meaning their use is not measured or reported.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
