Water firms in England and Wales are wasting around five times more water through leaky pipes than a nationwide hosepipe ban could save, a Greenpeace UK analysis of official figures reveals.
The findings come as millions of households face new restrictions on their water use following a prolonged spell of hot and dry weather.
The most recent Ofwat data shows that water companies are still wasting a staggering 2.87 billion litres of water every day through leaky pipes, enough to fill 1,150 Olympic-sized swimming pools. A fifth of all the water pumped into the network is lost in this way. By comparison, a nationwide hosepipe ban is estimated to save about 4% of the water distributed (577 million litres per day) – an amount five times smaller than that wasted through leaks.
Following a very dry and hot end of June and start of July, all regions in England are experiencing drier-than-average soils, with river flows and groundwater levels declining at nearly all sites and reservoir storage below the long-term average for this time of year. [1]
The water industry, which was privatised in the 1980s, has faced widespread criticism for prioritising shareholders’ dividends over investing in critical infrastructure. While leakage has fallen in recent years, the scale of the waste remains huge and the infrastructure inadequate.
Aside from the well-known issue of underinvestment in sewage treatment, not a single major new reservoir has been built in England and Wales over the last 30 years, although several projects are now planned. Until recently, the rate of replacement of old water pipes – where many of the leaks occur – meant that it would take 700 years to replace the entire network, according to the National Audit Office. [2]
Meanwhile, the Climate Change Committee has warned that climate change will make droughts more frequent, intense and widespread, with England facing a potential water-supply shortfall of more than five billion litres a day by the mid-2050s. [3]
Greenpeace UK is calling on the government to crack down on failing water companies once and for all, and set out how it plans to climate-proof the sector in its upcoming Water Bill.
Commenting on the findings, Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said:
“Of course people should use water carefully during prolonged hot and dry weather. But it’s galling to be told to put away the hose while water companies are losing nearly three billion litres every day through leaks. Fossil-fuelled climate change is making severe droughts more frequent and more dangerous, so ministers must not treat water security as tomorrow’s problem. The incoming Burnham government must force water companies to repair and renew the network and tackle the fossil-fuel pollution driving extreme heat and drought. Without this, people and nature will ultimately pay the price, not the company shareholders and execs.”
Notes to editors:
- Environment Agency weekly update
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-24/it-will-take-700-years-to-replace-uk-water-grid-at-current-pace
- From the National Framework for Water Resources 2025
Methodology
Greenpeace UK researchers analysed the latest available Ofwat figures, published in January 2026. The determination forecast for water distribution by 17 water firms across England and Wales in 2024-25 is 14,428 million litres per day. The overall amount of water leaked over the same period is 2,869 million litres per day. According to industry research quoted by the Environment Agency, hosepipe bans and temporary use bans can reduce the amount of water companies put in their distribution network by 3 to 5%, so our researchers used the mean, 4%, for their calculations. 4% of 14,428 million is 577 million litres per day, meaning the water lost to leaks is about five times what a hosepipe ban would save.