Severn Trent customers saving four million litres of water a day through their smart meters

Severn Trent customers reduced their bills and helped save an average of four million litres of water a day during 2024.

The water company has installed more than 350,000 of the free meters so far, with the aim of rolling out 400,000 to households and businesses by the end of April 2025.

People across Coventry and Warwickshire, Birmingham, Leicestershire and Shropshire will all benefit from the latest technology, which helps them reduce consumption and save money.

The meters also help Severn Trent to plan water supplies better and, crucially, helps to identify leaks so they can be fixed much quicker - avoiding millions of litres of water being lost.

Anthony Hickinbottom, Green Recovery Programme Manager, Smart Meters, said: “Leaks overtime can cost people a lot of money, whether that is on bills or damage caused to properties.

“Our free smart meters are able to identify leaks much quicker, meaning we can alert the householder and help to get the problem fixed within days.

“We may ask people to take a video of their leak and upload it via our VYN (Video Your Note) app so our engineers take a look and offer advice on how to fix it, free of charge.

“If they can’t fix it, they’ll put the customer in touch with the nearest recommended plumber.”

Severn Trent’s smart meter programme forms part of their wider plans to help customers reduce water consumption, with predictions estimating some UK regions could be facing some form of water scarcity by 2035.

Other ways water customers can save money, according to research by the Consumer Council for Water, include:

Switching off taps when brushing their teeth - £100 a year
Changing to a low-flow shower head - £100 a year
Cutting out two dishwasher runs per week by only running with full loads - £75 a year
Cutting out two washing machine runs per week by only running with full loads - £50 a year
Fixing constantly dripping taps - £90 a year