Water Efficiency Lab – WEL 1: Actionable Insights

Overview

The Water Efficiency Lab (WEL) is a multi-year, challenge-led innovation programme designed to address the growing water efficiency gap in England and Wales. The sector is projected to face a deficit of almost 5 billion litres of water per day in England by 2055, putting long-term resilience and service quality at risk.

WEL 1 is the first annual competition within the Lab, backed by the Ofwat Water Efficiency Fund (WEF). It aims to attract ambitious, practical solutions that can accelerate uptake of water efficient technologies, services, processes and approaches.

Each annual WEL competition will focus on a distinct theme. For WEL 1, the theme is Actionable Insights, with up to £5 million available to support promising projects. Individual entries can request £150,000–£1.5 million, subject to eligibility and any competition-specific exceptions.

Scope

WEL 1 focuses on solutions that use data and insight to influence water use behaviours and support more efficient use of water across homes, businesses and communities. The competition is designed to:

• Unlock innovative ways of collecting, analysing and presenting water use data.
• Turn complex datasets into clear, actionable guidance for customers, communities and other stakeholders.
• Support water companies and partners to meet long-term water efficiency goals.
• Deliver measurable reductions in water demand and help close the projected supply-demand gap.
  

The competition encourages entries that can work at scale in England and Wales, support real-world deployment and learning, and demonstrate potential for replication and long-term impact across the sector.

Key themes and topics

Under the “Actionable Insights” theme, WEL 1 is particularly interested in:

• Customer-facing data tools – apps, platforms or dashboards that help households or businesses understand their consumption and act on it.
• Behaviour change solutions – interventions that combine data with behavioural science, nudges, incentives or tailored messaging to drive sustained water saving.
• Smart metering and sensor data – innovative use of metering, IoT or other sensor data to identify wastage, leaks and inefficiencies and prompt timely action.
• Analytics and decision-support – advanced analytics, AI or modelling that translate raw data into practical recommendations for customers and/or water providers.
• Targeted support for high-use settings – data-informed solutions for sectors or communities with particularly high water use or vulnerability to shortages.
• Insight sharing and transparency – approaches that improve the visibility of water use and efficiency performance for customers, communities or regulators.
  

Project duration

The high-level overview does not specify standard project durations or start/end dates for WEL 1. Instead, project length, milestones and delivery expectations are set out in the Entrant Handbook, Project Delivery Template and terms and conditions.

Applicants are expected to:

• Propose a realistic delivery timeline within the parameters set by the competition.
• Demonstrate how the project will achieve meaningful impact and learning within that timeframe.
• Align their project schedule with the published WEL 1 timeline, including the entry deadline of 10 March 2026and winner announcements in mid-June 2026.
  

Award value

For WEL 1, the financial package is structured as follows:

• Total WEL 1 funding: up to £5 million.
• Individual project awards: typically between £150,000 and £1.5 million in grant funding.
• Exceptions: Some entries may be considered outside this range where justified and allowed by the competition rules (as described in the key materials).

Funding is intended to cover eligible costs associated with developing, piloting and evaluating innovative water efficiency solutions under the Actionable Insights theme. Detailed cost categories, eligible and ineligible expenditure, and any match funding expectations are set out in the Entrant Handbook and Project Delivery Template.

Eligibility criteria

Eligibility is set by Ofwat and the WEL delivery team and is fully explained in the competition documentation. From the overview provided, applicants should note:

• WEL 1 is part of the Ofwat Water Efficiency Fund, which targets improvements in water efficiency in England and Wales.
• Entries must be submitted online via Submittable no later than 10 March 2026 at 1:00pm (GMT); late entries will not be considered.
• Applicants must use the official WEL 1 entry process and templates, including:
  • Entry Drafting Form (optional for offline drafting).
  • Project Delivery Template (for planning delivery and budgets).