Core service
Water auditing for commercial organisations
A structured, independent review of what you are billed, what you actually use, and where that money is going.
Who benefits
Who a water audit is for
- Organisations with high or rising water bills
- Multi-site estates with no central oversight
- Water-intensive processes or equipment
- Sites billed on estimated readings
- Businesses with unexplained consumption
- Teams without in-house utility expertise
- Property managers responsible for tenant billing
- Organisations with ESG or efficiency targets
What we find
Problems that commonly surface
- Incorrect tariff or meter classification
- Continuous overnight or weekend flow
- Duplicate or legacy standing charges
- Wastewater volumes based on assumptions
- Surface-water drainage charges that no longer apply
- Consumption at vacant or closed units
- Meters that are unread, buried, or inaccessible
- Gradual leaks that never trigger an alarm
Scope
What an audit may review
- Water and wastewater invoices
- Tariff classification
- Meter serial numbers and locations
- Meter reading history and accuracy
- Estimated vs actual readings
- Standing charges
- Volumetric charges
- Wastewater return-to-sewer allowances
- Surface-water drainage charges
- Highway drainage charges
- Trade-effluent consents
- Historical billing errors
- Duplicate accounts
- Vacant or closed premises
- Consumption trends and seasonality
- Overnight and non-operational flow
- Cooling-tower and boiler make-up
- Washroom and kitchen fixtures
- Wash-down and cleaning processes
- Irrigation and external use
- Sub-metering coverage
- Leak-detection and monitoring arrangements
On site
What happens during a site visit
We walk the site with someone who knows how it operates. We locate and read every meter, check for flow when the building should be idle, and look at the equipment and processes that actually consume water — cooling systems, kitchens, washrooms, wash-down areas, and any water-using plant.
The visit is deliberately practical. We are looking for the gap between what the invoice says and what the building is really doing, and for the small, fixable things that quietly cost money every day.
Deliverables
What you receive
- A validated summary of current water and wastewater charges
- Confirmed tariff and meter classification
- Identified billing errors and overcharges
- Estimated recoverable amounts, where applicable
- Consumption baseline by site and by meter
- Analysis of overnight and non-operational flow
- Leak and abnormal-usage findings
- Equipment and process efficiency observations
- Prioritised recommendations with estimated savings
- Indicative costs and payback periods
- Quick wins that can be actioned immediately
- Longer-term efficiency opportunities
- Supplier queries drafted on your behalf
- A monitoring plan to protect the savings
- A plain-English executive summary
Outcomes
What a good audit should achieve
- Lower annual water and wastewater costs
- Recovery of eligible historical overcharges
- Accurate, validated invoices going forward
- Early detection of leaks and abnormal usage
- A defensible consumption baseline
- Clear visibility across every site
- Reduced operational disruption
- Evidence for ESG and efficiency reporting
- A prioritised, costed action plan
- Confidence that you are not overpaying
Questions
Water auditing FAQs
How long does a water audit take?
A billing and consumption review is typically completed within two to three weeks of receiving your data. On-site audits are scheduled around your operations and usually take about a day per site.
Do we need to change water supplier?
No. An audit is independent of your supply arrangements. Most of what we find exists regardless of who supplies your water.
What information do you need to start?
Typically 12–24 months of water and wastewater invoices, meter numbers and locations, a site list, and basic detail on operating hours and water-using equipment.
Will this disrupt our operations?
No. A site visit is a walk-round with someone who knows the building. We do not need to interrupt production or close facilities.
Do you work with multi-site estates?
Yes. Multi-site portfolios are where the largest and most persistent savings usually sit, because no one has a consolidated view.
What if our bills look normal?
Bills that look normal are exactly the ones worth checking. Tariff misclassification and estimated readings rarely announce themselves.
Can you recover historical overcharges?
Where a billing error is established, we can identify the amount and support the claim with your supplier. Recovery is subject to the supplier’s process and applicable time limits.
How far back can overcharges be claimed?
This depends on the nature of the error and the supplier’s policy. We will tell you honestly what is realistic in your case rather than promise a figure.
Do you install monitoring equipment?
We can specify and recommend sub-metering or logging where it is justified, and we will say plainly when it is not worth the cost.
What is a return-to-sewer allowance?
It is the assumption about how much of your incoming water actually returns to the sewer. If that assumption is wrong, you are billed for wastewater you never discharged.
We already have an energy broker. Is water different?
Yes. Water is billed, metered, and regulated differently, and it is routinely overlooked in energy-focused reviews.
What does a water audit cost?
It depends on the number of sites and the complexity of the operation. We will scope it and quote before any work begins.
What if you don’t find any savings?
That is a legitimate outcome and we will say so. You still gain a documented baseline, validated invoices, and confidence that your spend is correct.
Do you guarantee savings?
No, and we would be cautious of anyone who does. We will give you an honest assessment of what is achievable before you commit.
Is the audit confidential?
Yes. Your data, findings, and commercial information are treated as confidential.
Do you work with public-sector organisations?
Yes, including schools, healthcare estates, and local-authority property portfolios.
Can you help with trade effluent?
We can review trade-effluent consents and charges as part of a wider audit, and flag where the charging basis looks wrong.
How quickly can savings be realised?
Billing corrections can take effect within one or two billing cycles. Efficiency measures depend on the work involved and their payback period.
What happens after the audit?
You receive a prioritised action plan. We can support implementation, supplier queries, and ongoing invoice validation, or simply hand it over to your team.
Ready to see where your water spend is going?
Send us your recent bills and site details and we will tell you whether an audit is worth your time.