Bridging the gap: Awareness and Understanding of Water Issues

Water has rarely been out of the headlines this year. Issues including drought and hosepipe bans, river pollution from storm overflows, leakage and water company profits and dividends have intensified scrutiny of the sector.

We wanted to examine how aware people were of these issues and the extent to which they influence perceptions of their water company and the wider water industry.

Our research also looked at how the industry could have a more meaningful conversation with customers on some of these topical and emotive issues.

Our study found:

• Engagement with the water industry is low and perceptions are heavily impacted by negative media headlines. When asked in general terms, people are more neutral about their water company than when they are asked to think of a specific issue. Perceptions of the water industry have not changed among three-quarters of people in the past three to six months. This reflects their ambivalence, rather than their positivity, as well as the wider worries people are experiencing.
• Awareness of storm overflows and river pollution is high but actual understanding of this complex topic is very low. However, consumers are unlikely to ever engage fully on the detail of storm overflows and river pollution so the focus should be on a single, simple message which challenges the current narrative around storm overflows.
• Profits and bonuses are not actually at the forefront of many people’s minds but do add to consumers’ feelings of frustration and disempowerment within the context of all other issues. There feels like there is a lack of transparency and openness over how water companies as private businesses operate. This could be improved through clearer and more honest communications from companies.
• There is a causal link made between leaks and hosepipe bans. The amount of leakage frustrates consumers and it undermines any calls to action from water companies to play their part by reducing water use and observing hosepipe bans.

There is an opportunity for the water industry to be more open and transparent with consumers on these issues so that they have a greater understanding of what their water company is doing to address them.

A key element of our People and the Environment programme is to  help people better understand how the services we all use and rely on impact the wider water environment and to work with the water industry on providing accessible information on their operations and performance. Companies need to support these efforts by making sure their customers are kept well-informed and they are open and honest about these issues.

We will use this research to review our own communications on these themes, but importantly look to work with the water companies, and Water UK to ensure that people have access to the information they want and get the reassurance they need on some of these issues.