3 billion litres of water wasted every day by leaky pipes, costing customers almost £400 million per year

EMBARGO: 22.30 Monday 14th April 2025

• 3 billion litres of water wasted every day in England and Wales (between 2020/21-2022/23) due to leaky pipes
• That is equivalent to 1,200 Olympic sized swimming pools a day- due to leaky infrastructure water companies have failed to maintain
• This means that an average of 113 litres of water is leaked per property per day

An average of 3 billion litres of water is wasted every day in England and Wales (between 2020/21-2022/23) due to leaky pipes, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

This is the equivalent of 1,200 Olympic sized swimming pools of water being lost every day due to leakages.

The Liberal Democrats have calculated these water leaks are costing customers in England and Wales approximately £396 million per year. The party is urging the government to abolish Ofwat and replace it with a new regulator to hold water companies accountable for the maintenance of water infrastructure.

Water companies are required by the regulator, Ofwat, to measure the amount of water lost through their network over a consecutive three year period. Thames Water is the worst offender, with their three year leakage average at a shocking 592 million litres per day. United Utilities is second worst, with a whopping 415.2 million litres of water leaked per day, followed by Severn Trent with almost 400 million litres (398 million litres) each day.

The data also reveals the impact this is having on households across England and Wales. On average, a total of 113 litres of water is leaked per property every day. The biggest culprit is Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, who on average leak a shocking 171 litres of water per property daily. This is followed by Hafren Dyfrdwy, leaking on average a massive 154 litres of water every day per property. Thames Water is close behind with a total of 146 litres of lost water per property.

This is expected to increase prices by £15 per customer every year  according to House of Commons Library estimates - this equates to a shocking £396 million combined bill for customers in England and Wales. This follows Ofwat’s water bill hike last year which will mean customers face an average £31 rise every year, for half a decade.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to abolish Ofwat in favour of a new regulator with real power to hold water companies accountable, protecting customers and the environment. The Party has also called on the government to implement a single social water tariff to protect the most vulnerable customers from excessive bill increases.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“It’s shameful that despite hiking up customers’ bills, water companies continue to neglect their infrastructure and this is the outcome - billions of litres of water wasted every year.

“The government cannot just sit on their hands whilst water companies make a mockery of the system. To start with, they must replace Ofwat with a new regulator that can hold these polluting companies accountable.

“The Liberal Democrats will continue to stand with customers who have been taken for granted by water companies for far too long.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Three year average leakage (million litres per day): This graph shows the three year average of total leakage for each company, in millions of litres of water leaked each day.