Wholesaler
The regional water company: pipes, treatment and the physical supply.
Unchanged by a switch.Software · water, cited to the law and the standards
Water management software: licences, bills and disclosure
Water management software records the water a business takes, uses and discharges, so it can keep within its licences and consents, check its bills and answer the water questions reports ask.
This page sets out what UK law asks of a site, what the main frameworks ask of a report, and how to test a product against both; it names and ranks no product.
What the software does
What does water management software do? Four jobs, by site
Water management software keeps a record of water by site: what comes in from the mains or a source, what is used, and what leaves as discharge.
It serves two audiences that ask different questions.
The regulator and the water company ask whether a site is within its licence and its consent; a sustainability report asks how much was withdrawn, consumed and discharged.
The first is set by legislation for England and Wales; the second by frameworks a company adopts or, for some, by EU law.
- 1
Meter
Mains meters, boreholes and sub-meters, read by site and by period.
- 2
Reconcile
Bills checked against meters, across a change of retailer.
- 3
Comply
Abstraction licences and effluent consents held with their limits.
- 4
Disclose
Withdrawal, consumption, discharge and stored water, kept apart.
Licences and consents
When does a site need a licence or consent? Two tests in England and Wales
Abstracting up to 20 cubic metres in any 24 hours is outside the restriction in England and Wales, under section 27(1) of the Water Resources Act 1991.
The exemption is lost where the take is part of a continuous operation or series that exceeds 20 cubic metres in the period, so splitting a take does not escape it.
The Environment Agency’s guidance says that above 20 cubic metres a day a business is likely to need an abstraction licence.
Trade effluent may go to a public sewer only with the sewerage undertaker’s consent, under section 118 of the Water Industry Act 1991.
Read what a system should hold
For abstraction, a system needs daily totals per source, not monthly bills, because the test runs over 24 hours.
For effluent, it needs the consent’s terms beside the discharge record, so a breach shows before the undertaker finds it.
A licensing decision is the Environment Agency’s or Natural Resources Wales’s; software can only show where a site stands against the figures.
A site’s water dutiesExplore
A site’s water duties
Abstraction
Up to 20 m³ in 24 hours is exempt, unless part of a larger series.
A site’s water duties
Trade effluent
To a public sewer only with the undertaker’s consent.
A site’s water duties
Other nations
Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate regimes, not read here.
Bills and retailers
Can a business choose its water retailer? In England, yes
Since the business retail market opened in April 2017, eligible business customers in England have been able to choose their water and sewerage retailer, with no consumption threshold, according to Ofwat’s eligibility guidance.
In Wales only premises using at least 50 megalitres a year can switch, and only for water.
The regional water company remains the wholesaler that owns the pipes and treatment works, as Ofwat’s market page explains.
For a water system, a switch of retailer changes the bill format and the account numbers, so the series by site has to survive it.
One
business site
business site
Retailer
Billing, meter reading and customer service, chosen by the business in England.
Wales: only at 50 megalitres a year or more.Your site
Where does your site stand? Work it out from your figures
The tool beside this takes a site’s daily abstraction and annual mains use and says whether the small-quantity exemption may apply and whether the premises can choose a retailer.
It also flags the consent a trade effluent discharge needs.
It covers England and Wales only, and it is a guide to the tests, not a licensing decision.
Your site’s water duties
Abstraction licence: small-quantity exemption may apply
Up to 20 m³ in 24 hours is outside the restriction, unless the take is part of a larger continuous operation or series.
Choosing a water retailer: eligible
Non-household premises in England can choose a water and sewerage retailer, with no consumption threshold.
England and Wales only; Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate regimes.
A licensing decision is the Environment Agency’s or Natural Resources Wales’s, not this tool’s.
Nothing is stored or sent.
Water in reporting
What do reports ask about water? Four measures, kept apart
ESRS E3 water use
WithdrawalPlus consumption, discharge and water storedCDP 2026
ScoredWater Security, separately from climate and forestsUK SRS S1
If materialComply or explain for listed companies from 2027ISO 14046
2014 editionThe current water footprint standardThe revised ESRS E3 is titled “Water” and covers water use, which includes water withdrawal, water consumption, water discharge and water stored, in the delegated act; marine resources moved to E5.
CDP scores Climate Change, Forests and Water Security separately in its 2026 cycle, and releases scores the week of 30 November 2026, according to its scores page.
IFRS S1 names the CDSB water application guidance among the sources an entity may consider, at ¶¶55 and 58 of the standard.
UK SRS S1 asks for information about all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect a company’s prospects, under ¶3 of the standard, applied on a comply-or-explain basis by listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 from 2027 under PS26/19.
Read the footprint and building references
A product or organisational water footprint follows ISO 14046:2014, whose 2014 edition remains current.
In a building’s whole life carbon assessment, in-use water sits in module B7 of the RICS standard, beside energy in B6.
Where water feeds the nature disclosures, the TNFD approach is covered on biodiversity software.
Water in disclosureExplore
Water in disclosure
IFRS S1
Names the CDSB water guidance as a source an entity may consider.
Water in disclosure
UK SRS S1
All sustainability-related risks and opportunities, where material.
Water in disclosure
TNFD
Nature-related dependencies and impacts, which can include water.
The tests before you sign
How do you test a water product? Six questions, each tied to a source
Each question beside this names the provision or framework it comes from and what a passing answer looks like.
Run them on your own sites and bills; the meter logic is close to energy management software, and many products cover both.
This site has tested no products
Nothing on this page is a rating, ranking or recommendation of any product.
Water software demo questions · tick the ones you need
The pass tests are our reading of the cited provisions.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
Water management software, in one sentence
A site that takes more than twenty cubic metres a day needs a record that runs by the day, not by the bill.
Takeaways
What to take from this page
| The fact | What to do |
|---|---|
| Abstraction is exempt only up to 20 m³ in 24 hours | Record source water by the day, per source |
| Trade effluent needs the undertaker’s consent | Hold the consent’s terms beside the discharge record |
| English non-household premises can choose a retailer | Keep each site’s series intact across a switch |
| Reports ask for withdrawal, consumption and discharge separately | Never let one total stand for all three |
Start with the site check, then take the demo questions to any vendor.
One record, two audiencesExplore
One record, two audiences
Sewerage undertaker
Discharges against the trade effluent consent.
Frequently asked
Water management software, answered
What is water management software?
Software that records the water a business takes from sources and the mains, uses, and discharges, by site.
It reconciles meters with bills, holds abstraction licences and trade effluent consents, and produces the water figures that disclosure frameworks ask for.
Do I need a licence to abstract water?
In England and Wales, abstracting up to 20 cubic metres in any 24 hours is outside the restriction, unless the take is part of a continuous operation or series that exceeds 20 cubic metres in the period (Water Resources Act 1991 s.27(1)).
The Environment Agency says that above 20 cubic metres a day you are likely to need a licence.
Can my business choose its water supplier?
In England, non-household premises have been able to choose their water and sewerage retailer since April 2017, with no consumption threshold.
In Wales only premises using at least 50 megalitres a year can switch, and only for water, according to Ofwat’s eligibility guidance.
Do I need consent to discharge trade effluent?
Yes, in England and Wales trade effluent may be discharged to a public sewer only with the sewerage undertaker’s consent (Water Industry Act 1991 s.118).
Is water reporting mandatory in the UK?
There is no UK statute requiring companies to publish water data.
UK SRS S1 asks for information on all material sustainability-related risks and opportunities, which can include water; listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 apply it on a comply-or-explain basis for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
UK groups within the EU rules report against ESRS E3 where water is material.
What does ESRS E3 ask about water?
The revised ESRS E3 is titled “Water” and covers water use, which includes water withdrawal, water consumption, water discharge and water stored.
Marine resources moved to ESRS E5.
Is CDP water scored?
Yes.
In CDP’s 2026 cycle, Climate Change, Forests and Water Security are scored separately, and scores are released to disclosers the week of 30 November 2026.
A CDP score has no regulatory status.
What is a water footprint?
An assessment of the potential environmental impacts related to water of a product, process or organisation.
ISO 14046:2014 sets the principles, requirements and guidelines, and its 2014 edition is current.
Does water count in a building’s whole life carbon?
Yes.
The RICS whole life carbon standard puts water use over the in-use stage in module B7, part of operational carbon with energy use in B6.
Does a small business need water management software?
Often not.
A single site on mains water with monthly bills can track use in a spreadsheet.
Software earns its place with many sites, boreholes, effluent consents or disclosure requests that need withdrawal, consumption and discharge kept apart.
Has this site tested any water management software?
No. The page is built from the legislation, regulator guidance and standards cited, and it names no product.
Sources
Primary sources
Every duty and figure on this page traces to the source listed here.
Checked against 15 sources fromlegislation.gov.ukEnvironment AgencyOfwatEUR-LexEFRAGCDP
- legislation.gov.ukWater Resources Act 1991, section 27
The small-quantity exemption: 20 cubic metres in any 24 hours, lost for a continuous operation or series.
- legislation.gov.ukWater Industry Act 1991, section 118
Trade effluent to a public sewer only with the sewerage undertaker’s consent.
- Environment AgencyCheck if you need a licence to abstract water
More than 20 cubic metres a day: likely to need a licence.
- OfwatEligibility guidance on switching water retailer
England: no threshold since April 2017; Wales: at least 50 megalitres a year, water only.
- OfwatBusiness retail market
Retailers, wholesalers and the market operator.
- EUR-LexCommission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563, Annex I — ESRS E3 Water
Water withdrawal, consumption, discharge and water stored.
- EFRAGEuropean Sustainability Reporting Standards
The standard-setter’s ESRS home.
- CDPCDP scores
Water Security scored separately in 2026; scores the week of 30 November 2026.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S1, ¶¶54–59
Sources of guidance, including the CDSB water application guidance.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 General Requirements (PDF), ¶3
All sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 — final rules on UK SRS reporting by listed companies
Comply or explain for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
- ISOISO 14046:2014 — Water footprint
Principles, requirements and guidelines; the current edition.
- RICSWhole life carbon assessment for the built environment, 2nd edition
Module B7: water use over the in-use stage.
- TNFDRecommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
Four pillars and fourteen disclosures.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 and S2
Published 25 February 2026.