The Hidden Cost of Industry: Why Big Businesses Use So Much Public Water

In many parts of England, families are often asked to save water during dry summers. When drought conditions hit, people are told not to use garden hoses or fill swimming pools to protect the public supply. However, while households try to do their part, a new report shows that a very small number of businesses use more water every day than the needs of 10 million people combined. This situation has raised serious questions about how the country manages its most precious natural resource.

According to The Guardian Environment, businesses across England use about 2.6 billion litres of water from the public supply every single day. This makes up roughly 30% of all public water use. Even more concerning is that two-thirds of this water is taken from areas that are already struggling with a lack of water, known as water-stressed areas. This means that while local people are asked to cut back, large industrial sites continue to use huge amounts of water without clear limits.

Tracking exactly how much water these companies use is surprisingly difficult. The Guardian Environment reports that regulators are frustrated by a lack of clear data and what they call “commercial secrecy.” Because many companies do not want their private business information to become public, it is hard for the government to plan for the future. Without accurate information, it is impossible to know if there will be enough water for everyone as the population grows and the climate changes.

One of the biggest users of the public water supply is the ExxonMobil refinery in Southampton. Mosl, the organization that manages the business water market in England, pointed to this site as an example of high water waste that is not discouraged by current government rules. In written evidence to a House of Lords committee, Mosl suggested that the current system does not give companies enough reason to save water. However, ExxonMobil has disputed these figures, stating that its water use is commercially confidential. The company also explained that most of the water it takes is used for cooling systems that are necessary for its operations, and that it cannot easily reduce this usage without shutting down parts of its factory.

This lack of transparency is not just a problem for one company. The Guardian Environment notes that one in ten businesses in England do not even have a meter to measure how much water they use. Of the businesses that do have meters, only a small number use “smart meters”—devices that send real-time data to water companies. This means that for a large portion of the business sector, the exact amount of water being taken from the public supply remains a mystery.

Sarah McMath, the chief executive of Mosl, told a House of Lords committee that even government departments struggle to get the information they need. She explained that when the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) or the Environment Agency asks for data, Mosl often has to create a special agreement just to share it. This slow process makes it very difficult for the government to make quick decisions about how to protect the environment or support society during a water crisis.

To solve this, the Environment Agency and the water regulator, Ofwat, are now calling for mandatory reporting. This would mean that all large businesses would be required by law to report how much water they use now and how much they expect to use in the future. By making this information public, regulators hope to improve national water security—a state where there is enough clean water for everyone to live and work safely.

As the climate continues to change, the pressure on water supplies will likely increase. Experts believe that the current system of “commercial secrecy” is no longer acceptable when the environment is at risk. By moving toward a system of open data and mandatory reporting, the government hopes to ensure that industrial growth does not come at the cost of the public’s basic needs. For now, the debate continues over how to balance the needs of big business with the urgent need to protect the water that everyone relies on.