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What is a business water audit?
A business water audit is a detailed review of your business water bills to identify mistakes and overcharging by your suppliers.
Business water rates are complex, and overcharging is shockingly common in the following areas:
- Surface drainage charges
- Highway drainage charges
- Environmental charges
- Rateable value charges
- Business water meter measurement issues
- Trade effluent charges
- Large user water and wastewater wholesale tariffs
- Return to sewerage allowance
A water audit identifies and quantifies these errors to claim a rebate from your business water supplier.
The best business water suppliers offer a water audit service to new customers.
Am I being overcharged on my business water bills?
A business water audit service is the best way to determine if your business is being overcharged.
The water bills your business pays depend on several factors, including:
- The surface area of your property
- The rateable value of your property
- The size and number of your water meters
- An estimate of the amount of wastewater returned to the sewer
- The strength of your trade effluent
Errors are common in each of the above, and they can result in your water supplier overcharging.
What are the benefits of a business water audit?
Our business water experts present the key benefits of a business water audit:
Historical rebates
If a water auditor identifies overcharges, you can claim rebates for up to six years, which could result in significant financial returns.
Identify leaks
Analysis of water consumption at your property can identify business water leaks. Fixing leaks can save you thousands in water consumption charges.
Water efficiency
Get advice on implementing measures like greywater and rainwater harvesting systems that reduce your business water consumption.
How to arrange a business water audit?
If your annual water bills are less than £5,000 each year, a water audit is unlikely to be a useful solution. However, if you’re in one of the industries that use the most water, auditing your usage could be extremely valuable.
At AquaSwitch, we don’t conduct water audits directly. However, when you switch to a new business water supplier, they are best equipped to provide a thorough audit and help you claim any rebates from your previous provider.
We specialise in helping businesses compare business water suppliers and switch to a cheaper tariff.
To begin the process, visit our switch business water suppliers page today.
The business water audit process
We summarise three key steps to the water audit process below.
If your water audit finds refund opportunities, they will guide you through the reclaiming process.
Desktop analysis
You will need to provide historic business water bills going back as many years as possible.
A water expert will perform a desktop review of your bills by:
- Recalculating business water charges to identify errors.
- Identifying charges that can be verified and challenged with a site visit.
Site visit
A qualified water surveyor will visit your commercial property. The survey ensures that you are paying correctly for judgmental parts of your water bills. A surveyor will typically look at:
- Meter downsizing and redundant supply points for your water supply.
- Allowances and strengths used for trade effluent charge calculations.
- Surface area assessments used in drainage charges.
- Return to sewer allowances.
Audit report
Your water audit specialist will collate and analyse the results from the survey. They will then provide you with a detailed report which includes:
- Billing issues identified.
- Valuation of potential rebates.
- Recommendations for efficiency improvements.
What does a water audit look for?
The water audit aims to verify and challenge factors contributing to historical business water rates. Here are some examples of questions a business water audit looks to verify:
Is the meter size on my water bill correct?
The standing charges on a water bill are determined by the size of the communication pipe and meter entering your property. An auditor will inspect your meter to ensure the size used to bill your property is accurate.
Has my water meter been installed correctly?
Installations of new water meters can often cause leaks where the meter is connected to the supply pipe of your property. A water audit will ensure your business is not liable for paying for the wasted water resulting from poorly executed business water connections.
Is my water meter being read correctly?
Business water suppliers should arrange for a physical water meter reading every six months. A water auditor will verify that this is actually being carried out and that the water meter is measuring accurately.
Is my return to sewerage allowance correct?
Business water suppliers calculate the amount of wastewater being returned to sewers by applying a return to sewerage allowance (RSA) to the volume of water being recorded by your water meter.
A water auditor will analyse how your business uses water and analyse whether the RSA used by your supplier is fair.
Is the rateable value on my water bill correct?
Business water suppliers refer to the rateable value of properties when calculating the water bill of properties without a water meter. Our experts will verify the rateable value figures using local council databases.
Is the surface area of my property on my water bill correct?
Some water suppliers charge for surface drainage based on a commercial property’s surface area.
Water auditors will remeasure the property to ensure that the figure on the water bills is accurate.
Is the chemical oxidation demand used in my water bill correct?
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is a measure of how much oxygen is required to break down pollutants in trade effluent. The COD is used in water bills to represent the strength of trade effluent produced by a business.
A water auditor will use industry benchmarks to determine whether the COD used in your water rates is accurate.