Public sector customers drive forward cost efficiencies and smart water management, with Water Plus, through national framework

A huge range of public sector customers can now identify cost efficiencies and drive carbon reductions by working collaboratively with Water Plus to track their water use.

These include councils, hospital trusts, government buildings, blue light emergency services, sixth form colleges and schools who now all have the opportunity to explore ways to use less water, reduce cost and positively impact carbon by working with Water Plus through the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) RM6306 Lot 3 framework.

Water Plus is delivering a range of webinars and customer forums to help public sector organisations understand more about their current water use and to identify how ancillary services, available through the framework, can help with decarbonisation and reducing costs.

So far, more than 1,200 public sector sites, across 31 organisations, have signed up with national business water retailer Water Plus through Lot 3, since it won the first mini competition on the latest Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework, which has an overall value of £2bn.

Not only has it seen national public sector organisations move all of their sites in England to Water Plus but also others that have chosen to move back to the Water Plus team, to take-up the enhanced customer offer and opportunity to explore the ancillary services available.

Services Water Plus can provide includes data loggers (also known as AMR) that can be added to water meters to provide detailed consumption information on water use each day, through an online analysis portal. The portal also issues alerts on increased water use above an agreed level, with data logger installation projects also helping portfolio management.

More than 150 sites are already taking this option up, through Lot 3 of the CCS framework – seeing the benefits data loggers can bring to make water management easier and identify opportunities for savings, alongside the added support for improving risk monitoring and management.

Water is in Scope 3, for carbon emissions, so reducing any areas of water waste – and increasing water efficiency – helps with decarbonisation targets and progress towards Net Zero in the public sector.

Other ancillary services available in Lot 3 include water efficiency audits to locate and prioritise opportunities and leak detection, to reduce overall consumption, cost and carbon.

Tony McHardy, Corporate Managing Director at Water Plus, whose team work across the public sector, said: “It’s great to be supporting even more sites to help meet the cost and carbon challenges around climate change and find opportunities to drive down our customers’ water bills, particularly following wholesaler price increases seen from April 2025, that have hit public sector budgets.

“We’re dedicated to delivering a progressive one stop service for the public sector and have a proven track record on water-savings and exploring new approaches, including smart water management strategies, tailored to customer needs.

“We’re delighted to be working with more public sector customers through the CCS framework, welcoming returning and new customers, while building on the positive results those already with us are seeing.”

Other savings identified for public sector sites, by the Water Plus team in the last year, includes a £68,000 estimated saving on wholesaler charges across 12 months,with an estimated reduction of 24 tonnes of CO2e,across 12 months, after a review of 30 sites in England and Scotland.

And more than 3,600 sites, including schools, academies, sixth form colleges, GP practices and council sites are using less water after Water Plus contacted them as part of a large-scale water efficiency programme.*

Also, find out more about increasing efficiencies through water management, in the public sector on information shared by Water Plus on the Public Sector Sustainability Association website.

Additional information:

* Sites engaged with had water audits and water-savings delivered between July 2024 and March 2025.