Cartref – A Year in Review

Over the last 9 months the team have been working hard with customers to help them save water, energy and money.

• 540 leakage appointments booked
• 10,000 water saving packs sent out
• 20,000 products distributed
• 11,647 litres per hour saved
• Nearly 100 non-household locations audited

Here we speak to Cartref Team Leader, Annie Lamb, to look back at 2021 and how the team are looking to continue their great work in 2022.

Tell us about some of the aims of the Cartref project.

The goal of Cartref is a simple, yet effective one: to help our customers save water in straight forward and achievable ways. Doing this has great knock-on effects, not only does it help the environment by saving energy but also helps reduce customers’ water bills every year.

There are two great schemes which have helped achieve these results: Our new ‘Leakage Drive’ and ‘Get Water Fit’.

For our Leakage Drive, our aim was to ensure that we help customers identify leaks in the most effective and efficient way for the customers as possible, particularly in light of the changing restrictions due to the pandemic. Our new video review function allows customers to send a short clip of a suspected leak in their toilet or taps for our plumbers to review so that we can offer the most appropriate level of support, whether that’s organising an appointment if a leak is present, or providing advice over the phone if not.

Our Get Water Fit Calculator is an easy way for customers to understand their daily water usage and aim to reduce it. By answering a few simple questions, the customer can have access to some helpful hints and tips on becoming more water efficient. Signing up to the calculator also provides customers the opportunity to order water-saving products including flow-regulating shower heads, tap aerators and water displacement bags – all for free!

In a tough year, how did 2021 go?

We’ve seen real interest in both schemes and as a result have been able to offer some positive benefits to customers, some of whom have experienced an increase to their water consumption over the last couple of years due to spending more time at home.

Our Get Water Fit calculator has had almost 14,000 sign ups since going live with just under 8000 free water saving packs being sent out over the last 9 months. That is almost 16,000 products and thousands of litres of water saved!

During these uncertain times, we wanted to make sure we could continue to offer a service to our customers to help fix leaks without the need for unnecessary callouts.

Our customers took up the opportunity to use our new leakage video review scheme, which resulted in 81 leakage fix appointments being scheduled, and some great feedback.

Robert and Marion from Risca wrote in to report:

"Just want to say a big thank you to Welsh Water for the recent initiative to fix leaking taps.

The engineer who came out was really excellent and made every effort to sort out the issue, which was not straight forward. Our taps are now working properly, and we are delighted at the service provided."

Alongside this, we have undertaken a number of audits for non-household customers. From these audits we have been able to offer repairs and installations of water saving products to 40 primary and secondary schools and over 50 rugby clubs and scout halls.

What are the next steps for the Cartref team?

In September we began our targeted messaging in three new community areas; Risca, Pontardawe and Dolgellau. The team has built strong relationships with businesses, community groups and schools in these areas, becoming regular faces at local events, groups and supermarkets, engaging customers in their local communities.

As we move into 2022, we will be continuing this work with a particular focus in Ruthin, Carmarthen and Llandrindod Wells.

We’re looking forward to engaging with customers in these areas and spreading our water saving message even further.

If you live in these areas and think we can help visit www.dwrcymru.com/project-cartref