• Seven pioneering water efficiency projects awarded a share of £5 million to develop innovations that provide customers with insights to help them save water
• Innovations developed through the Water Efficiency Lab will help close a projected shortfall of 5 billion litres a day in England's public water supply by 2055
• Winning projects see partners from across multiple sectors working together with water companies, including the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Aviva, Greene King pubs, John Lewis, IKEA, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s
• This is the first round of a £25 million programme of prizes to be awarded over five years

Seven innovative projects designed to provide homeowners and businesses with the insights they need to cut the amount of water they use have been awarded a share of £5.2 million as the winners of the first Water Efficiency Lab.

The successful projects include the 50 litre home to test the most water efficient, effortless appliances in people's homes, a water saving primary school education programme, and a solution from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) which will enable water companies to advise customers of the best ways and times to water their garden.

In England, we are using water faster than nature can replace, and in Wales the changing climate is putting pressure on water supply. While both countries are known for their rainfall, climate change is bringing the risk of warmer, drier summers and wetter winters, which affects how much water is reliably available for homes, businesses, and the natural environment.

If nothing changes, England alone faces a shortfall of 5 billion litres a day by 2055, the equivalent to 25 million people leaving the tap running for 20 minutes every single day. Fixing leaks and upgrading infrastructure is well underway, but how we use water every day really matters. Simple changes made at home and work by everyone add up to make a big difference.

That’s why Ofwat’s Water Efficiency Lab is awarding £25 million over four years to innovative solutions that help people and businesses take control of their water use, making saving water effortless. In its first year (WEL 1), the Water Efficiency Lab is funding solutions that provide tailored, data-led and actionable insights to customers.

£1.5 million has been awarded to the 50L Home England Pilot, led by Northumbrian Water in partnership with Electrolux, Barratt Redrow, IKEA, Groundwork, Waterwise, University of Surrey, World Economic Forum, Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and others.

This pilot brings together innovative appliances, fixtures and everyday products, including dishwashers that remove the need to pre-rinse, washing machines that clean effectively in cold water, and high-pressure low-flow showers, and trials them in existing and new UK homes alongside behavioural science and data-driven insights.  By engineering water efficiency into the products people already use, the project aims to show that household water demand can be reduced by 30 to 40 per cent while improving quality of life and cutting bills.

Water Warriors, led by the Water Research Centre, has been awarded £365,000 to bring water science into primary classrooms. Designed around the Key Stage 2 curriculum, the programme embeds water as a topic across science, maths, English and art, helping pupils explore how water moves through their homes, communities and environment, empowering children with the knowledge to make choices about their water use and sharing this with their families

Helping Homes Save Water Outdoors, led by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), in partnership with Affinity Water, Severn Trent, Thames Water and others, has been awarded £1.1 million to give water companies a much clearer picture of water usage in gardens and other outdoor spaces.

The project will use smart meter data at scale to identify the patterns that reveal when and how households are watering outdoors. These insights, combined with detailed in-home flow monitoring and behavioural research, will help water companies provide timely, relevant guidance; such as seasonal prompts on the best times to water, and practical advice on making the most of harvested rainwater. The final output will be a playbook that water companies across England and Wales can use to support customers with more useful, better-targeted information.

Emma Hardy, Water Minister, said:

“This government firmly supports innovative approaches to create a more secure, resilient, and sustainable water system.

“We face growing pressures on our water supplies, which are increasing every year because of climate change, and it is vital we help households and businesses monitor their usage whilst managing their water bills.

“The winners of the first Water Efficiency Lab are vital for this mission, creating exciting new ideas that will save water, reduce bills and protect our environment.”

Paul Hickey, Managing Director of RAPID at Ofwat, said:

“These seven projects are designed to make water-efficient use the easy default in homes and businesses across England and Wales, through smarter appliances, better data and tools that put useful information directly into customers' hands. This £5 million prize is the first tranche of £25 million that will be awarded through the Water Efficiency Lab over five competitions, supporting innovators whose work will help deliver more resilient water services for customers and the environment.”

Nicholas Cryer, Senior Scientist at the Royal Horticultural Society, said:

“Outdoor water use peaks in summer, but who uses it, where, and why remains unclear. Our project combines smart meter data and in-home monitoring with behavioural insights to quantify and untangle the many water uses, supporting water efficiency and resilience. This is crucial as climate change brings hotter, drier summers.”

Joe Cahill, Head of Water Efficiency at the Water Research Centre, part of RSK Group, said:

“This funding will empower a new generation of Water Warriors, inspiring children to champion water-saving values and habits in their communities. By embedding water efficiency across the curriculum (from Maths and English to Science and Art) and equipping teachers to bring these lessons to life, we aim to inspire lasting behaviour change across schools, homes and communities throughout England and Wales."

£1.2 million has also been awarded across two projects targeting commercial and workplace water use. The WIN Initiative, led by Quensus, has been awarded £495,000 to install more than 1,000 sensors across 30 commercial buildings to tackle the 10 to 30 per cent of water lost in commercial settings to leaks and continuous flow. The project will also test whether linking water efficiency to insurance premiums could turn water saving from a voluntary commitment into a financially motivated one, with insurer Aviva exploring how a new Water Management Plan standard might unlock benefits for building owners.

Workplace Water Wins, led by Waterscan in partnership with Anglian Water, Greene King, John Lewis Partnership, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, the University of Surrey, and others, has been awarded £677,000 to install sub-metering across pubs, supermarkets and hospitality and leisure sites. Sub-metering involves using multiple meters across a premises to pinpoint exactly where water is being used across a site. This provides a much clearer understanding how much water is used in specific areas, such as kitchens, bathrooms, or outdoor spaces. This more granular insight makes it easier to take quick and targeted action, with the aim of helping businesses reduce waste, cut costs, and operate more sustainably, without disrupting day-to-day operation

Laundry Behaviours Lab has also been awarded £210,000 to identify the motivations that already lead people to wash less often, run fuller loads and choose gentler cycles, turning those insights into messages that help shift laundry habits in a water-efficient direction. It is led by Weir The Agency, in partnership with Anglian Water, Southern Water and others.

Tackling the challenge of making water data useful to customers, MyWaterGPT has been awarded £860,000 to build the first sector-specific large language model in the UK water industry. The conversational AI tool will let customers ask questions about their water use in plain language and get personalised, actionable answers in return. The model draws on smart meter data, where available, to spot leaks, explain unusual usage and surface practical, household-specific insights, all without requiring any personally identifiable information. It is led by Advizzo, part of Calisen Group, in partnership with South West Water, Spring Innovation, Waterwise and others.

The Water Efficiency Lab is delivered by innovation prize experts Challenge Works (part of Nesta), in partnership with Arup and Isle Utilities, and funded by Ofwat’s Water Efficiency Fund. The second Water Efficiency Lab (WEL2) – which will be focused on innovations to reduce customer-side leaks in homes and businesses - will open for entries on 3 August.

To find out more about all seven winners of the first Water Efficiency Lab or to find out more about future competitions, visit waterinnovation.challenges.org