Leaked data shows water companies are replacing 0.05% of England’s crumbling pipe network a year. It would take English water companies 2,000 years to replace their pipes at current rates, leaked data reveals.
On average, water companies replace 0.05% of their pipe networks a year. Southern Water and Severn Trent are the slowest performers, with each having an average replacement rate of 0.03% of their pipe network a year. Northumbrian and South West Water top the leader board, each replacing about 0.2% of their network each year.
England’s crumbling pipe network is one of the causes of the vast volumes of water leaked each year, exacerbating droughts and leading to the implementation of hosepipe bans. Water companies in England and Wales lost more than a trillion litres via leaky pipes last year, according to the sector’s latest figures. The industry and its financial regulator, Ofwat, say the water companies lost an average of 2,923.8m litres of water a day in 2021-22, equating to 1.06tn litres over the year.
Martin Salter, the head of policy at the Angling Trust, said: “The available data on wastewater pipe replacement rates shows that the typical replacement/renewal rate in the UK is around 0.05% of the network per annum. This implies Ofwat and the water companies are expecting sewers to last for 2,000 years – 10 times longer than the European average. Our increasing concern in pollution situations like this is that any repairs to an already crumbling network will only last a short while before the next wipeout of fish and wildlife.”
European averages show that most European countries replace their pipes at about 0.5% a year, giving each pipe an expected life of approximately 200 years. Modern PVC pipes can last between 50 and 100 years depending on ground conditions and other factors.
