Using water consumption benchmarks in schools

Check what the benchmark measures

Before using a figure, establish its source, date, units and sample. Check whether it includes catering, pools, boarding, staff housing or irrigation. A figure per pupil per school day is not directly comparable with an annual total divided by pupil numbers.

Make a like-for-like comparison

This guide does not prescribe a universal consumption target. Ask the publisher or water provider which school types are included and how the denominator is defined. Where the sample is unsuitable or the method is unclear, record that limitation rather than treating the number as a pass or fail.

Within a trust, compare schools with similar facilities and schedules. Changes at one site can be useful signals, but a school’s historical baseline may itself include an existing loss.

Use the comparison to choose the next check

If consumption appears high, first check the billing period, read type, occupancy and known activities. Then compare measured use during relevant occupied and quiet periods. Low use against a benchmark does not rule out leakage, and high use does not establish it.