Bold vision for water resources

The Environment Agency has published its National Framework for Water Resources. The policy aims to help reduce demand, halve leakage rates, develop new supplies, move water to where it’s needed and reduce the need for drought measures that can harm the environment.

The latest predictions estimate that if further action is not taken, between 2025 and 2050 we’ll need more than 3.4 billion additional litres of water per day to meet future demand for public water supply. The National Framework for Water Resources brings together industry, regulators and government to transform the way we use and look after our water supplies.

The framework introduces an ambitious aim for water companies to help consumers cut wastage and to use water more wisely in order to reduce our average water use from 143 to 110 litres per day. Five regional groups across the country will work up plans tailored to the specific needs of their individual area, bringing together the 17 English water companies, industry regulators, government and other water users. The framework will guide these groups and deliver a national blueprint for future water resources planning from 2025 to 2050 and beyond.

The framework also sets out the challenges that water-intensive industries such as agriculture and power generation are likely to face across different parts of the country as a result of climate change, and how we can overcome them.

Commenting on the framework, National Infrastructure Commissioner Dame Kate Barker said: “With demand for water growing and the stability of supply under challenge from climate change, we need a coherent long term plan that ensures England’s water system is resilient to drought while continuing to provide a reliable supply to families and businesses.

“We welcome this framework’s bold vision, in line with the conclusions in our National Infrastructure Assessment. It is clear about the need to protect our natural environment and promotes collaboration between water companies, regulators, government and major users to reduce demand, increase supply and better share scarce water resources.”

In its 2018 National Infrastructure Assessment, the Commission made a series of recommendations to boost the resilience of the water supply in England to the impacts of climate change, including drought. These included halving leakage by in the water network by 2050, additional supply infrastructure by the 2030s and a national water transfer network to ensure an extra 4,000 Ml/day of supply by 2050 and reduce the need for reliance on emergency drought measures.

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