3 easy ways to weather winter and build better resilience at public sector sites in 2026

Smart steps with water during winter months can help give an added boost to budgets and keep greater control on costs.

Water may still be lower cost than energy, particularly during colder times of the year, though it shouldn’t be looked at last.

See the little actions to take, below. Plus, check out this free to access on-demand webinar for more insights for the public sector, so your sites are in better shape for 2026.

1. Check-in more often, when temperatures tumble

Changing temperatures, particularly after colder spells, can cause issues for sites, particularly where you have older pipes. It can mean more leaks, which could be underground and difficult to isolate and locate.

That’s why small and regular checks at sites, while keeping track of water use each week, if not daily, can make a big difference.

In fact, one school taking action to monitor its water use closer saw 76 litres an hour of extra water use in 2025 – which could add an additional £2,500 onto costs, in 12 months. They received an alert from an online analysis portal, Water Plus can provide amongst its services, thanks to a data logger installed on a water meter. Plus, there could be wider damage to sites, walls and floors.

As they needed a little extra help to locate where the use was happening, a visit to the school in November 2025, booked through the Advanced Services team at Water Plus, saw the additional water use found and stopped. Water was constantly flowing into a cistern, for flushing urinals, causing additional use. 

2. Reduce risks, to keep buildings running

A university, a college and a school all had to closedown buildings in October and November 2025 due to water leaks, which shows the risk these can pose, alongside disruption to teaching and important research.

An overnight water leak at another university, closed a student kitchen in May 2025 and a steam leak at a university also affected heating in buildings on a campus in November 2025. These can pose a serious health and safety risk, particularly during colder weather.

Having systems to monitor when use increases suddenly and checking your site’s infrastructure, including that all stop taps are operational and situated in the best locations, so any water issues can be isolated easily, all helps reduce risks of things grinding to a halt and build resilience. It also provides certainty for your operations, to keep up and running during any water supply issues.

Looking into water storage options at sites and having a water emergency plan in place, so staff know what to do if water stopped and where water can be sourced are also critical steps to take.

John Clarke, a Water Plus Senior Key Account Manager that works with a  wide range of public sector sites in England and Scotland, said: “The main thing is taking steps to be prepared, don’t wait for something to happen.

“It’s also worth increasing monitoring of less visited and isolated sites, outbuildings and storage tanks that could be on the outskirts of your estate. Out of sight shouldn’t result in out of mind.”

3. Tap into energy savings, with wise water actions

Adding small aerators on taps, or swapping older taps for push taps, or sensor taps, can significantly reduce hot water use, cutting energy use.

In fact, one public sector organisation needed less hot water, thanks to 2,200 efficiency devices on taps and showers installed in a proactive water management programme delivered by the Water Plus team.*

And water audits for a council found some taps using an average 15.75 litres a minute, which could be reduced by 75% to 3.8 litres a minute. There were 255 efficiency devices installed, in the project with Water Plus, on taps, in kitchens and on showers across a range of sites, in December 2024, reducing hot water use.

Regular maintenance is also key, so you know any water efficiency devices and taps, toilets and urinals are all working as they should be to continue providing the intended savings and efficiencies

It’s also important to cover any risks from Legionella for the water pipes at your site, even when less people are using a site, with routine checks, inspections and cleans, as set out by the Health and Safety Executive.

John Clarke, Senior Key Account Manager at Water Plus, added: “It’s the little things that can quickly add extra costs and disruption, like constantly running water or pipes that are not lagged and get very cold.

“That’s why it’s worth being wise on water, each month of the year, so you can ramp-up site resilience and prevent shutdowns or delays to timetables.”

Ready to ramp-up resilience and drive decarbonisation?

Our experienced and 2025 UK Customer Satisfaction Award winning team at Water Plus have helped public sector sites unlock significant savings in water and boost efficiencies.

• For water audits, tracking technology, or to explore efficiency options, contact: advancedservices@water-plus.co.uk

• Reach out to: hello@water-plus.co.uk to partner with our team.

• Explore more insights and services at: www.water-plus.co.uk/better-ways-with-water 

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Want more know-how right now?

See this PSSA article for more on how other public sector sites are taking actions in 2025 around water management.

*Water efficiency project across 30 public sector sites with water audits and water saving kit installed between September 2023 to July 2024.