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Home / Who we help / Manufacturing
Last updated August 2026
Who we help
Business Water for Manufacturing
On a production site, water is part of the process. It cools, cleans, dilutes and rinses, and the bill carries a wastewater side that is easy to get wrong.
You can switch retailer. Manufacturers have had that right in England since 2017. Most never have. This page covers where manufacturing water costs come from, how to switch retailer, and where overpayment usually hides.
| Wholesale supply | Comes from regional water companies (Thames Water, Severn Trent, Yorkshire Water, and others). |
|---|---|
| Contracting | Single sites can contract directly with retailers, and groups can put every plant on one central contract. |
| Biggest savings levers | Trade effluent banding reviews, return to sewer allowances and surface water drainage rebates. |
| Trade effluent | Anything discharged to sewer from a process needs a consent, and charges follow the strength and volume of what leaves the site. The rules are set out in government guidance. |
| Market opened | England in 2017 and Scotland in 2008. |
| Licensed retailers | Around 20 are licensed by Ofwat to supply non-household water. |
Where the money goes
Why manufacturing sites pay more for water than they should
The usual story on a factory bill is that the tariff and the trade effluent consent were set up when the site ran differently, and nobody has revisited either since. The five checks further down are where that shows up.
Process water rarely behaves the way a standard tariff assumes. Cooling towers lose water to evaporation, treatment plants produce reject streams, and washdown runs to a consent with fixed strength bandings. Default billing treats all of it as ordinary supply and ordinary sewerage.
The wastewater side is where most of the money hides. If water evaporates, ends up in the product or is tankered away, it never reaches the sewer, and the return to sewer allowance should reflect that. On sites that have changed processes over the years, it often does not.
Where it shows up
The five areas manufacturers overpay
Where manufacturing sites overpay and why it matters.
Return to sewer set too high
Cooling tower evaporation, water that leaves in the product and tankered waste never reach the sewer, yet default billing assumes most supply does. A corrected return to sewer allowance brings the wastewater charge in line with what actually leaves the site.
Trade effluent banding out of date
Consents carry strength bandings that were set when they were issued. If the process, throughput or pre-treatment has changed since, the banding can be wrong for how the site now runs and is worth reviewing.
Surface water drainage on roofs and yards
Charged on the site footprint by default, but how drainage is assessed depends on your regional wholesaler. Where roofs and hardstanding drain to soakaways or attenuation rather than the public sewer, the charge can be challenged, and in many wholesaler regions rebates can be backdated.
Reject and rinse water on full tariff
Reverse osmosis reject, rinse water and similar streams are sometimes billed as if they were ordinary consumption on both sides of the bill. How they are metered and classified is worth checking against how the plant actually runs.
No sub-metering on the big users
A single site meter hides which line, tower or process is driving consumption. Sub-metering the large users makes leaks and creeping usage visible and gives you the evidence for allowance claims.
Results
Case studies
Consolidated multi-site billing onto a single contract with one retailer and one point of contact.
Worth knowing
Consents and contracts, what sits where
The water supply contract and the trade effluent consent are separate things. The retailer bills you for supply and sewerage, while the consent governs what your process is allowed to discharge and sets the strength bandings your effluent charges follow.
They are best reviewed together. A switch is the natural moment to check the consent still matches the process, and the official market rules for business customers are published by Open Water, the body that runs the market.
The market
Can manufacturers switch water supplier?
Yes. England’s non-household water market opened to competition in April 2017 and Scotland’s opened in 2008, so every manufacturing site can choose a different water retailer. Wholesale supply still comes from your regional water company; only the retailer (the company that bills you and reads your meter) changes.
The 12 retailers below are all licensed by Ofwat to supply non-household water. Pricing, service and sector experience vary from retailer to retailer.
Choose your route
Routes to procurement
Three ways manufacturers typically bring a new water contract in. Each comes with its own trade-off between control, effort and how sharp the price lands.
Direct with a retailer
The site signs straight with a licensed retailer. Best for a single plant that wants a sharper rate. You handle the comparison and the switch yourself.
Group procurement contract
Groups can put every plant on one central contract, often alongside energy. Efficient at volume, but individual sites are tied to whichever retailer the group has chosen.
Broker-led market test
A water broker compares the market for you, handles the paperwork and manages the switch from start to finish. Nothing changes physically on site.
Why choose The Business Water Shop
- Award-winning independent brokerage, not owned by or tied to any water retailer.
- Rated 5 stars on Google and 5 stars on Trustpilot by UK businesses.
- Experts with experience in business water for manufacturing, industrial and process sites.
- We compare quotes from up to 14 licensed retailers.
- We handle the whole switch, from the comparison and paperwork to the supplier contact.
- One point of contact for multi-property portfolios.
Questions
Manufacturing water FAQs
Can I get a wastewater deduction for cooling tower evaporation?
Often, yes. Water lost to evaporation never reaches the sewer, so the return to sewer allowance can be adjusted to reflect it. The claim needs metering or a reasonable calculation behind it, which is part of what a billing review puts together.
Our trade effluent banding has not been reviewed in years. Does that matter?
It can matter a lot. Bandings reflect the strength of what the consent assumed you discharge. If pre-treatment has improved or the process has changed, the site can sit in a higher banding than the effluent justifies.
Is reject water from our treatment plant billable as effluent?
It depends on where it goes and what is in it. Reject streams that discharge to sewer fall under the consent, and how they are classified affects the charge. It is one of the first things worth checking on a process site.
Will switching retailer interrupt production?
No. A switch is paperwork rather than plumbing. The wholesaler still owns and runs the pipes, there is no engineer visit and supply is not touched.
Can shutdown and contractor water be tracked separately?
Yes, with sub-metering. Temporary high usage during shutdowns is a known distortion on annual figures, and separating it keeps the baseline honest for tariff and allowance purposes.
We have several plants with different wholesalers. Can they go on one contract?
Yes. Retailers operate nationally, so a group can consolidate plants in different wholesaler regions onto a single retailer, one contract and one point of contact.
How do I get a quote?
Send a recent water bill for the site. The SPID, annual volume and current retailer are all on it. We come back within two working days with an alternative quote and a flag if anything looks worth checking on effluent or allowances.
