Chief executive of the Bathroom Manufacturers Association Tom Reynolds explains why the water efficiency message is still difficult to get across, while taking a look at the bigger picture.
Water efficiency has never been an easy sell. Even when the idea aligns perfectly with saving money, helping the environment, and safeguarding future resources. Now, the task feels even harder.
Across the pond, re-elected President Donald Trump has reignited his crusade against water-saving bathroom products. His latest executive orders aim to undo regulations on low-flow toilets and showerheads, branding them as the villains behind lacklustre performance and consumer frustration. This rollback threatens to undermine years of progress toward sustainability in the United States.
Here in the UK, the battle over water efficiency is playing out under very different skies – literally. The past 18 months have been the wettest in England’s recorded history, with the Met Office reporting a staggering 1,695.9mm of rainfall in this period. When water seems to be pouring in abundance, convincing people that we need to conserve it becomes a harder narrative to push.
Yet, the deluge masks a deeper issue. England and Wales lost over 1 trillion litres of water to leaks last year, according to The Guardian. That’s enough to fill 400,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, gone before it even reached our taps. This is the result of decades of underinvestment in water supply infrastructure since privatisation. The irony is as clear as a running tap: we’re drowning in rain but still wasting precious drinking water.
If this weren’t bleak enough, projections suggest that 7 regions in England – including the South East and Anglian areas – will face severe water stress by 2030, even as climate change increases demand on dwindling supplies. The bathrooms we’re fitting today will shape domestic water use for decades to come, so it’s critical to focus on water efficiency now.
This is where manufacturers have an opportunity – and a responsibility. By innovating products that perform brilliantly while using less water, and by educating customers with tools like the Unified Water Label, we can shift the conversation. It’s not just about saving water; it’s about maintaining comfort, convenience, and quality while doing so.
For the sceptical consumer, water efficiency isn’t a story of sacrifice – it’s one of smarter living. As an industry, we need to sell the benefits, dispel the myths, and remind people that every litre saved today is an investment in the future. It might not be easy, but it’s never been more important.
